The year 2020 saw 5,250,837 car accidents, and nearly 36,000 of those incidents resulted in a fatality and 1,593,300 involved an injury. Motor vehicle accidents are confusing, overwhelming, stressful and emotional.
The car accident statistics suggest that many people will experience an accident at some point, and it may be difficult to know what to do during these high-stress times. Therefore, these are a few steps you should follow if you get into a car accident.
Search for injuries
Your first step includes taking a moment to calm yourself and check for injuries. Search your body for open wounds, and feel for injuries you may not have the ability to see. Ask your passengers if they feel pain.
Move to safety and contact the police
Your next step should include moving out of traffic if you can. However, do not leave the scene. You can stay in your vehicle if you are out of traffic but get out of it if you could not move and get to a safe place.
You should also immediately call the police. If no one received a severe injury, contact the police department, but call 911 if anyone got hurt.
Gather information
You should also photograph the scene of the accident. Then, exchange contact and insurance information with the other drivers and contact information from witnesses. Write down your account of the incident.
Tell the police what happened, but do not admit fault. Collect the police report.
See a doctor
Whether you feel pain or not, you should get checked out by a doctor. Adrenaline can mask the pain for hours or days.
After an accident, approach the situation with calm and learn what you need to do to protect yourself.