What to do After a Car Crash
1. Take some deep breaths to get calm. After a crash, a person may feel a wide range of emotions — shock, guilt, fear, nervousness, or anger — all of which are normal. But take a few deep breaths or count to 10 to calm down. This is the time to take stock of the accident and try to make a judgment about whether it was a serious one.
2. Keep yourself and others safe. If you can’t get out of your car — or it’s not safe to try — keep your seat belt fastened, turn on your hazard lights, then call 000 if possible and wait for help to arrive. Don’t attempt to drive your car away from the accident scene until the police arrive, unless it is a minor accident. Be extremely cautious — not all injuries can be seen. If you are in shock you may not realise how severe your injuries are.
If the collision seems to be minor, turn off your car. If it’s safe to get out and move around your car, turn on your hazard lights and take your driver’s licence and a pen and paper. If you have a camera phone, take some photos of the scene and then move your car to a safer position.
3. Exchange information –Write down all the driver’s information including address and driver’s licence number, insurance company and policy number and check to see if the ownership information matches the vehicle they are driving. Get their phone number and dial it from your phone to check it is the correct number, then save it.
This is not the time to decide who is at fault or to settle anything. If there are any witnesses, ask them if you can have their contact information so you can pass that along to the police.
Should the other driver involved insist that the crash not be reported to police, be very suspicious. Your car may never get repaired or they may deny ever being involved if there is no paper trail after the crash.
4. Reporting the Incident
If you or anyone involved isn’t feeling 100%, you should call 000. Be ready to give the dispatcher the following information:
• Why? The dispatcher will ask for your name and phone numbers in case the authorities need to get more information from you later.
• What? Tell the dispatcher as much as you can about the emergency — for instance, whether there is a fire, traffic hazard, medical emergency, etc.
• Where? Let the dispatcher know exactly where the emergency is taking place. Give the city, road name, road number, and anything else you can think of to help them know how to find you.
Sometimes, you can get the police to report to the crash scene even if there are no injuries, especially if you tell them you need someone to mediate to help you figure out what happened and who is at fault.
5. Written off, uninsured car – You can sell an uninsured car for scrap metal and get paid a lot more than what the wreakers pay you. Tow truck drivers are usually affiliated with scrap metal dealers or scrap yards, if not, you can usually find one in the trading post.
6. Insured car – Your insurer will usually have the wreck towed to an associated panel beaters to assess the damage. Make sure you empty everything out of the car before you get it towed, especially the “E-tag” because it can take months for your insurer to post it out to you.
7. See a doctor as soon as possible – the crash itself might be upsetting, dealing with the aftermath can be too. In the hours or days following a collision, some people may still be shaken up. They may be beating themselves up over what happened — especially if they feel the crash was avoidable. Sometimes, people close to those who were involved (like families and best friends) can experience some emotional problems too. These feelings are all normal.
8. Make a claim through the Motor accidents Compensation scheme – Get a lawyer to fill out your forms and it doesn’t cost you a cent. You only have six months to lodge a claim, this will cover your out of pocket medical expenses, rehabilitation expenses and more. If you don’t lodge a claim within the time limitations you will miss out if you are still affected by injuries that worsen or go untreated – Call 1300 734 737 before its too late.
9. Chiropractor and Remedial Massage and other treatments to assist in recovery can be reimbursed by the insurer. Ensure you follow doctor’s advice to ensure a fast recovery.
Also go to Motor Vehicle Accident Compensation for additional information
For more Personalised Assistance Call 1300 734 737 for Free Consultation.