What to Do In A Accident

[Makdaddymac]

hey all,
i just read about grey5.0's wreck, and it seems this year has been pretty bad for all the 5.0 vets...
So I was thinking since the only accident i have been in involved me getting rushed to the hopital.
i wanted to know what to do when in a accident say a fender bender or etc. Should I call the police? just call the insurance company? Should we move are cars if possible to avoid blocking traffic? IS there any way to protect my neck if someone says here's my information i have to go...Also about avoiding the paperwork/insurance companies to save on premiums, is it smart since body work usuallu quotes at a min of 500+, so is it worth it, or should you just use your insurance(its purpose)?

 

[fivespeedsteed]

all ive ever heard is to accept the ambulance ride to the hospital. and no matter what, your neck always hurts after a crash. if you catch my drift. if you tihnk its disputable whose fault it was, leave the cars there. they cant file a police report if you move the cars.

 

[NIKwoaC]

Ambulance rides can be expensive, and yes, you should always leave the cars in place until the police arrive.

 

[1993SSP]

From experience in the field, ALWAYS call the police, no matter how nice and honest the other person claims to be. People will be sooooo nice and seem so honest, but if you work out a deal with them and leave the scene 99% of the time you will never get anything from them!

Plain and simple, GET A POLICE REPORT of the accident. If you think you're hurt, make the trip in the meat wagon, it's better to have medical documentation after the accident then to go into the emergency room hours or days after the accident.

But most importantly I hope no one has a crash in their beloved fox body, but they do happen

 

[2BADSTANGS]

ALWAYS call the police. I got rearended at a stoplight a while back and when the insurance companies began processing it, the other driver tried to say it was my fault. (How it could have been, I don't know.) Anyway the police report ended that dispute. So the police report is a CYA kinda thing too.

 

[foxmustangman]

I've gotten hit twice...both while my car was parked in a stall. The first it was a girl that had rearended me, not too much damage and she left me her name and number. I called her and her parents said they would just pay for the damage instead of going through insurance. They never sent the check, and I lost the note so I could never prove that they did it.

The second was a durango that backed into my car. The guy knew where I was and came and got me. I got all his information and just called his insurance company telling them what happened. I got paid in full by his insurance company.

But yet again, none of these were while driving.

 

[ryan218]

do not move the cars. unless pictures have been taken. the lady that pulled out in front of me told me..move your car so people can get around. i told her to shut the **** up.( i was pissed still at this time, then she called the police and said she feared for her saftey ) dont move the car. when mine happened. i threw it into park and got out..( maybe before the car stoped moving...that pissed) she kept rolling forward and pulled into the driveway and then tried to say she was backing out and i hit her. so leave the cars where they are. that shows what happened. i didnt move mine till the cop saw it and took pics. and yes call the cops. police reports are a must imo. keep a dig cam with you. ( i do now )

 

[hamonkeiser]

A lot depends on where you live. If the cars are drivable move off to the side of the road so as to not block traffic (in PA you can be cited for not moving your car to the side). Call the police to report an accident (again, the Police will usually not come if the accident occurred on private property such as a shopping center parking lot or in some areas the police will not come out if there are no injuries & both cars are drivable). Take photos of the accident scene & the damages. If your cell phone doesn't have a camera get a disposable one & put it in your glovebox. Photos will help if there is a dispute & the police don't come out. Exchange information. Get Insurance Company Name, Policy#, Vehicle Tag & Vin #. Report the accident to your insurance company & the other driver's company, don't wait for them to call you. Never let some one offer to pay for the damages themselves. Usually you'll never see the money or if additional damages are found (happens alot, we can't see behind panels without removing them) you won't see any money for the additional damage.

NEVER ADMIT FAULT. Just give the other driver your information. Give your statement to the police & the insurance companies & let them determine fault & it's extent. You may not be at fault but if you admit to it the insurance companies may try to use your admission against you.

 

[90topdown]

NEVER ADMIT FAULT. Just give the other driver your information. Give your statement to the police & the insurance companies & let them determine fault & it's extent. You may not be at fault but if you admit to it the insurance companies may try to use your admission against you.

REMAIN CALM, Even if it is clearly your fault, don't admit it. Say as little as possible beyond the insurance info to the other driver. Take lots of pictures.

ALWAYS get a police report. It can save your azz, if there is ever any litigation or suits. It saved mine after a minor fender bender when the Trooper wrote "no injuries" on the report. Asshat other driver and some ambulance chaser lawyer tried to sue me for all kinds of injuries. Just because I had a new BMW and the other car was a ghetto special 84 Toyota Corolla, doesnt mean it is automatically my fault. Damn lawyers!!!

 

[ryan218]

yeah remaining calm is easier said then done.

 

[RYC CUKR]

Like Harmon said there are jurisdictions where you have to move the cars if they are drivable. I know that when I had an accident in FL and we called the police one of the things they said is that if the cars are moveable then they need to be moved out of the way of the flow of traffic.

 

[QUICK91LX]

A lot depends on where you live. If the cars are drivable move off to the side of the road so as to not block traffic (in PA you can be cited for not moving your car to the side). Call the police to report an accident (again, the Police will usually not come if the accident occurred on private property such as a shopping center parking lot or in some areas the police will not come out if there are no injuries & both cars are drivable). Take photos of the accident scene & the damages. If your cell phone doesn't have a camera get a disposable one & put it in your glovebox. Photos will help if there is a dispute & the police don't come out. Exchange information. Get Insurance Company Name, Policy#, Vehicle Tag & Vin #. Report the accident to your insurance company & the other driver's company, don't wait for them to call you. Never let some one offer to pay for the damages themselves. Usually you'll never see the money or if additional damages are found (happens alot, we can't see behind panels without removing them) you won't see any money for the additional damage.

NEVER ADMIT FAULT. Just give the other driver your information. Give your statement to the police & the insurance companies & let them determine fault & it's extent. You may not be at fault but if you admit to it the insurance companies may try to use your admission against you.

REMAIN CALM, Even if it is clearly your fault, don't admit it. Say as little as possible beyond the insurance info to the other driver. Take lots of pictures.

ALWAYS get a police report. It can save your azz, if there is ever any litigation or suits. It saved mine after a minor fender bender when the Trooper wrote "no injuries" on the report. Asshat other driver and some ambulance chaser lawyer tried to sue me for all kinds of injuries. Just because I had a new BMW and the other car was a ghetto special 84 Toyota Corolla, doesnt mean it is automatically my fault. Damn lawyers!!!

Like Harmon said there are jurisdictions where you have to move the cars if they are drivable. I know that when I had an accident in FL and we called the police one of the things they said is that if the cars are moveable then they need to be moved out of the way of the flow of traffic.

/thread

these responses sum everything up

the cops can figure out what happened based on conditions, damage to cars, configuration of the roadway/intersection and statements of the drivers and witnesses. there is no reason to leave the cars in place or take photos, what good would that do? half the time the cars end up so strewn over the roadway that you wouldnt be able to tell what actually happened solely based on the final position of the vehicles. in my accident i deflected off of the car I hit and continued on. what was i supposed to do, stop right there as to demonstrate the way i hit and deflected into the other lane?? Plus you would have a whole bunch of drivers pissed that your ass is blocking the road for no reason.

 

[RYC CUKR]

One other thing to note.

If you are ever involved in a redlight accident or where someone ran a stop sign try to see if you can get a witness to stick around or at least get their cell #. Because if there are no witnesses then all the other guy has to say is "my light was green" and it becomes a he said/he said thing and the officer will not usually give a ticket since there are not witnesses. This comes from my brother who is an FHP trooper. It might be different in other states but in FL this is pretty much how it works. That said if you ever see an accident involving running a stop sign or redlight please stick around and let the officer know what happened. It can mean all the difference to the poor person who was not at fault.

 

[Vipersix]

I would simply add that it is a good idea to immediately write all of the events in as much detail as possible while they are fresh in your mind. You'd be surprised how much you forget in only a few minutes.

 

[foxmustangman]

Tru dat^ after about 20 minutes my memory slowly started to fade about the freeway accident i witnessed yesterday.

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

When I was 17, a guy went between the westbound turn lane to go south and the oncoming lane going east. Oh man, talk about a wreck. He hit the car behind me, me, and 3 cars going east. Then he took off!!! Luckly there was a cop in the intersection and he got him.....

87 years old
No speaky English
Could not walk because "hunchback" kept him half bent over!!!!!

 

[Metalcop]

I am 'on the job' and I will re-iterate the same advice: ALWAYS CALL THE POLICE!!! The police are your neutral 3rd party and they will report the facts of the collision not he said, she said garbage. If the police aren't called then it it your word against some other bozo and almost guarantees that you and/or the other guy will be screwed by your insurance companies. If the police won't come, for private property reasons or minor collisions etc. get names and numbers from witnesses, and even written statements if possible, and of course, take pictures. People contact me, nearly every day, to 'report' an accident that took place last month, last week, yesterday or an hour ago. It doesn't matter, they will not get a police report, unless the police respond to the scene of the collision close in time to when it occurred!

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

Also, stay calm, police don't like crazy, hyper people. Also, don't get too detailed, they just want cliff notes. Don't tell them you were picking up your kid when all of the sudden....they don't want to here that, tell them I was heading south, or west, or north, when this guy slammed into my drivers side. or something like that.

 

[MaxTheHooker]

i've got a real problem with the people on this board who are saying "even if it was your fault, don't admit it was your fault"... forget that **** man - it's attitudes like that that create dishonesty to begin with. part of getting into an accident is being responsible enough to handle the situation for what it is - not sit there like a coward denying your actions.

if it's your fault, man up right then and there and admit it. don't be an ass. but if you honestly don't know whether it's your fault or not, don't say a word. don't admit anything.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I just got rear ended Friday in my buddy's GT. I was at an intersection turning left waiting for traffic to pass, and a girl was waiting behind me. Another girl rear ended her and sent her into me. I got out ready to kill someone because it's not my car and i expected to see a massacre but it only cut up the bumper cover.

The most important thing is that nobody is hurt...even the retard that hits you (if that's the case). Cars can be replaced, lives can't.

If everyone is ok and the cars are movable, get them off the road. We were sitting in the middle of a busy intersection and these chicks started pulling out their info...i said WAAAIT a minute, lets move to a parking lot and do this.

Get EVERY piece of info you can get from anyone involved. Insurance info, address, phone number, license plate, VIN number, make/model/color of the car, even description of the driver and names of any occupants. It's not a bad idea to ask around for witnesses either.

Lastly don't take chances or try to be a hard ass about injuries. If something is sore, it's gonna get worse later. If you're not at fault then you shouldn't be paying for anything so get checked out by a doctor. My gf and my son were in the car with me, and my gf is 8 months pregnant...i called 911 and she got a ride to the hospital just in case. The next day i felt like i had my ass kicked.