A lot of us use the roads on a daily basis; we drive the same route to work every day, drive to our local supermarket and visit friends as often as we can. Having a car makes doing certain things much easier than they would be without one.
When we travel on the roads we are all aware that road traffic accidents happen, but like a lot of things, we generally think they won’t happen to us. Most of us have made at least one mistake on the roads, whether it was pulling out in front of a vehicle or stalling our vehicle – hopefully we managed to correct the mistake and no injury was caused.
If we were unfortunate enough to become involved in a road traffic accident, a lot of us would panic at the scene and wouldn’t know what to do. Below is a guide on the steps that you should take if you do become involved in an accident:
- Write down the contact details including the name, address and telephone numbers of the other party involved in the accident whether they were the driver of the vehicle, a passenger in the vehicle or a pedestrian.
- Note details of the vehicles involved in the collision – include the make, model, registration number and colour of the vehicle. It may be helpful to take note of how many people were travelling in the vehicle at the time of the accident.
- Note the insurance details of the driver of the other vehicle.
- Note the time, date, and location of the accident. It may be useful to take note of the weather conditions at the time of the accident; for example, were the roads wet or dry?
- If you have a camera on you at the time of the accident, take photographs of the accident scene.
- Try to take note or identify any damage to the vehicles involved in the accident. Also try to identify any injuries to each of the people involved in the accident.
- If a police officer attended the scene of the accident it is a good idea to take note of their identification number.
Those involved in road traffic accidents may be in shock and need time to come around after the accident – so it may not be possible to get all of the above details noted down. After the accident you should note down as much as you can remember about the accident, including what you believed caused it. Did the other vehicle suddenly stop with no warning? Did they pull out of a junction in front of you? All of this will help when deciding who was at fault in causing the accident.
If you have been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault you may be able to make an injury compensation claim. Contact The Injury lawyers for free and friendly legal advice.
