So, now you’ve gone and done it. Just when you thought your day was about to go off without a hitch, you’ve made the unwelcome acquaintance of another vehicle on the road. Who knows, maybe you even rearended a hitch, thus making the whole sordid affair come full-circle.
Of course, now you’ve got a situation on your hands, and for that, we at Avondale Nissan are here to help. Without further ado, here are our tips for handling a car accident.
First, it’s important that you do two things in preparation for the unlikely event that you’ll get in a car accident. One, it’s a good idea to do your best to understand your insurance coverage, and particularly, what exactly your coverage provides. Namely, does it offer free towing? Or what about a rental car to get you through the days when you’ll be immobile?
The next thing you’ll want to do is prepare an emergency kit in your car for just such an occasion. Just put the basic essentials for after an accident occurs, including a pen and paper, a camera, and cards with insurance and potentially medical information.
Tips for Handling a Car Accident
Tip #1: Get everyone out of harm’s way. Once the accident occurs, before you get to the unsavory business at hand, work quickly to get cars off of the road. If the cars aren’t mobile, at least get all the passengers away from the road, and if any passengers can’t get out of the car, they should stay buckled until authorities arrive.
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Tip #2: Exchange your information. Obviously, you’ll need to get the information if there are other drivers involved. Using the paper and pen, get the other driver’s name, address, phone number, insurance company, policy number, driver license number and license plate number. Also make certain that the name of the driver and insurance holder are the same, getting the relationship they share if there is a discrepancy.
Tip #3: Take pictures and document the wreckage. Using the camera from your emergency kit, take pictures of the accident from every angle. Do your best to get the overall context of the accident as well, and if there were any witnesses to the crash, get their statements and contact info as well.
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Tip #4: File your accident report. You won’t always be able to get emergency vehicles to respond to your accident, depending on whether or not there were injuries. However, this shouldn’t stop you from filing a report, which can be done at the DMV or at your local police department.
In the event that you do get into a car accident, we hope that you stay safe. And, if you’re in the need for Nissan-certified parts as a portion of your repair, we encourage you to visit us at Avondale Nissan today!
