MAKE SURE YOU ARE PREPARED
Having a car accident is something that we all wish we could avoid for the entirety of our lives, but statistically, the majority of us will experience one or even multiple accidents in our lifetime. So apart from praying that we are never involved in a fender bender, we should all learn to be prepared for the event of an accident and know what to steps to take immediately afterwards.
Some of the steps you should take involve safety aspects, while others are primarily for financial reasons. If an accident is not your fault, you need to be particularly wary of the other party trying to absolve themselves of blame. It doesn’t matter whether the person appears trustworthy or admits to being at fault at the scene; situations can change dramatically after they have had time to clear their head.
Maybe the sweet and innocent young girl who ploughs into you will have a dad who is a policeman or lawyer and tries to manipulate the story to place you at blame. Or there could be the case of a guy who realises he will lose demerit points for the accident if at fault and therefore lose his licence and job. If you saw the statistics on people changing their stories after an accident, it would genuinely surprise you, so remember to be wary of the potential for this occurring and take measures to ensure it doesn’t happen to you.
10 TIPS FOR BEFORE AN ACCIDENT OCCURS
- Keep a record of important phone numbers such as police and emergency services either in your mobile phone or written down on paper.
- If your car is insured, keep a copy of your insurance company’s phone number, as well as your policy number. If your policy has restrictions on vehicle repair centres, be sure to carry a copy of the approved list with you as well.
- Locate a reasonably priced tow truck service and carry their contact numbers with you. Otherwise, the first available tow truck that arrives could cost around four times the standard price.
- If you have any serious medical conditions or allergies to medications, ensure you carry a medical information card on you at all times.
- Carry a torch or flashlight in your vehicle. This can prove to be very handy in the event of an accident at night.
- Carry a first aid kit in your vehicle. You never know when it might be necessary or end up saving either yours or another person’s life. Taking a first aid course is also of great benefit.
- Carry some small traffic cones. This is not a necessity, but can prove useful if a crash occurs in a high traffic area.
- Wear a watch or take a mobile phone with you. You may need these items to record the time if an accident occurs.
- Keep a pen and some papers in your vehicle. You will need these to record details and exchange information with the other driver or witnesses. Pens are notorious for the ink running out when you need them, so carry multiple pens or preferably use a multi-pen, such as one that has four colours to select from.
- Carry a camera and recording device in your vehicle. These are critical if you need to record evidence of the crash. Most modern mobile phones come with cameras, video recorders and sound recorders these days, so you may not need to carry those devices in your car. If you are worried about theft of your camera, you can always buy and keep a cheaper disposable camera to take accident scene shots.
Continued at What you should do after a car accident – Part 2