What to do during a car crash

Car crashes happen every day! Read this article to find out what you should do if you're involved in a car crash!

With over two hundred million drivers on the road today, it's not surprising that a car crash occurs every ten seconds. But, you can help to protect yourself and your family if you know what to do should you be involved in a crash.

The first and most important thing to remember during a car crash is to remain calm. You can't be any help to yourself or anyone else if you're in a state of hysteria. Relax for a moment and take a deep breath to clear your head.

Then, the second step is to turn the ignition off in your vehicle, and, carefully check yourself for injuries. Check your passengers too, to make sure they're okay.

You and your passengers, if there are any, will need to exit your vehicle if you are able. If you can't open the door, you'll need to crawl out a back door, a hatchback, or maybe even out through the sunroof. If your vehicle is still on the road, you'll need to watch out for oncoming traffic.

Many motorists carry cell phones, and if you have one with you, your third step should be to call "911". You'll need to summon the police, ambulance, and other rescue services. Since there is no way to track the location of a cell phone, you'll need to tell the dispatcher the exact location of the crash. If you're not sure of the name of the road you're on, and then give him or her names of any cross roads that are nearby.

After he or she has collected a sufficient amount of information about the accident, so they can send Emergency personnel to the scene, the dispatcher will ask for your name, address, and home phone number too. Stay on the phone with the "911" office until they tell you that they have all the information they need.

Now that you have checked on your own passengers and helped them out of the vehicle, you should check on the other drivers and their passengers.

After that, the fifth step is to set up emergency flares on the road. The flares will need to be a distance away from the accident site. They will need to be located on both sides of the site. These will warn other motorists that they will need to slow down or stop up ahead.

As long as the other drivers involved in the crash are able to talk coherently, the sixth step is to get a pen and paper and exchange names, addresses, phone numbers, as well as the names of insurance companies. You should also write down their insurance policy number. You should also ask to see the other motorist's driver's license so you can write down their license number.

If the other driver is hostile, and refuses to exchange information, then you should remain calm and simply wait for the police to arrive. (Don't blame the other driver, and don't claim any responsibility for the crash! In fact, the less that you talk to the other driver, the better.) You can collect the necessary information later from the accident report the police will fill out. You'll need to get a copy of the accident report anyhow so you can file a claim with your insurance company.

If there are any witnesses to your car crash, you should also write down their names, addresses, and phone numbers.

Finally, no matter what, you must stay at the scene of the accident! There are laws against leaving the scene, and you don't want to get cited for that! Wait for the police to arrive and take care of the situation.

Written by K Sprang - © 2002 Pagewise