The First Thing to do After a Car Accident

Check for injuries:

The first thing you should do after a car accident is to check yourself and any passengers for injuries. If anyone is seriously injured or in need of immediate medical attention, call 911 or your local emergency number right away.

Get to a safe location:

If the accident occurred on a busy road and your car is still drivable, try to move it to the shoulder or a nearby parking lot to avoid causing further accidents. If your car is not drivable, turn on your hazard lights and try to stay as far off the road as possible.

Call the police:

Even if the accident was minor and there are no injuries, it’s important to call the police so that you can file an official report. This report can be useful if you need to file an insurance claim or if there are any disputes about what happened.

Exchange information with the other driver:

Be sure to get the other driver’s name, contact information, insurance company and policy number, and license plate number. You should also get the make, model, and year of their car. If there were any witnesses to the accident, try to get their contact information as well.

Document the accident:

Take pictures of the damage to both cars, as well as any skid marks or other marks on the road. If you have a dashboard camera or a smartphone with a camera, consider recording a video of the scene as well. This documentation can be helpful in supporting your insurance claim.