Media post: 6 Things You Should Never Do After a Car Accident
No one likes getting into a car accident but unfortunately accidents happen. To make things worse, often after a collision, your body goes into fight or flight mode, and clear thinking becomes difficult. To prepare you just in case you find yourself in an accident at some point, Jaguar of Naperville, a full-service Jaguar dealer, gave us a list of six things you should never do after a car accident.
Leave your car in the road
Unless your car is damaged so badly that it can’t be driven, it is always best to pull off to the side of the road after an accident. Don’t worry about preserving the scene for the police when they arrive. It is far more important for you and any other cars involved to pull off to the side where it is safe to exit your vehicle and wait for the police.
Flee the scene
Leaving the scene of an accident is a really bad thing to do. In fact, it is illegal to leave the scene of an accident. This advice certainly applies to rather minor accidents also. If you back into a parked car or clip someone’s quarter panel, you may be tempted to conclude that “its nothing” and leave. The problem is that if someone sees you or you are captured on a surveillance camera then you might get a surprise visit from the police and a court appearance date.
Attempt to clean up
Some accidents are severe enough to make a big mess in the road. Don’t be tempted to clean it up. Although it is a good intention, it is usually dangerous to do. Typically the police or highway department will clean things up – that’s their job.
Neglect to call the police
Regardless of how small the incident may be, the police need to be notified. First, not reporting any sort of accident is an offense in most states. Second, you want the police to show up to collect data and file a report for insurance purposes. If the insurance companies involved try to settle claims without a police report, it’s just a mess. The insurance adjuster and others will not know what really happened and your view will likely differ from the other person. Be smart – always call the police.
Assume aches and pains are just bruises
Playing it cool and acting like “nothing hurts” may save you an ambulance ride to the local hospital but that might not be advantageous. The smart thing is to get any potential injuries documented so that if you find out later on that you were actually injured, then you have documentation to prove it.
Ignore other vehicles involved
Our final tip pertaining to what not to do after an accident has everything to do with not only common courtesy but is the smartest thing to do after an accident. Once everyone is safely over to the side of the road, go check in on the other driver and passengers. You may be involved in the aftermath of the accident for some time so getting to know the other parties is a smart idea.
