What To Do After An Accident

In Portage, used cars get into accidents on a fairly regular basis. It’s not that people are trying to drive their vehicles around town like bumper cars; it’s just that accidents do occasionally happen. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t have to pay such unreasonable insurance premiums to places like State Farm and All State and Geico every six months.

If you do get into an accident, however, there are a few things you should make sure you do. Depending on how bad the wreck is, somebody could get seriously hurt or seriously sued or both, and how you respond to an accident could determine how rough the outcome actually is.

So here are some tips:

The first thing to do is make sure everybody is okay. Nobody move, nobody leave the vehicle until you’re sure it’s safe to do so. When you think everything is cool, exit the vehicle and approach the other person involved but do not admit fault. Simply saying, “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” could work against you in court, even if it was in fact your fault. Save the apologies for later.

If there are witnesses around, try to get their names and contact information in case they end up being able to help you later in a court case, and call your insurance company as soon as you can, even if it was totally your fault. They need to be aware that a claim could be made soon.

Take pictures and notes. The pictures obviously are a record of what damage was actually done to the vehicle, and the notes can keep track of what you and the other person are feeling in terms of injuries. That makes it less likely somebody will make up some new ailment later and blame it on the accident.

You also may have to get an attorney, depending on how bad the accident is and how badly people are hurt. Hopefully it won’t come to that, but if it does it’s better to be protected legally. Should you follow all of these steps, you’ll be among the smartest drivers in Portage. Used Jeep Wrangler drivers, for example, might feel safe in their huge vehicles, but there’s more to an accident than how you are. It’s about the other person, too, and these measures will help protect everyone.