What to do after a car accident?

March 21, 2016

If you are involved in a car accident it can be a very scary experience! It is an offence if you either fail to stop at the scene of an accident or fail to report an accident in which you are involved.As soon as your car is involved in an accident you need to take the following steps, regardless of who was at fault.

If you are involved in a accident as a driver and one or more of the following occurs:
  • a person, other than yourself, is injured
  • damage is caused to another vehicle or to someone else's property - including street lamps, signs, bollards etc.
  • an animal* has been killed or injured, except in your own vehicle or trailer
Then you must:
  • stop and remain at the scene for a reasonable period
  • give your vehicle registration number, your name and address, and that of the vehicle owner (if different) to anyone with reasonable grounds for asking for those details
If you don't exchange those details at the scene, you must report the accident at a police station or to a police constable as soon as you can, and in any case within 24 hours.
If another person is injured you must:
  • Call police
  • produce your certificate of insurance, if anyone at the scene has reasonable grounds to see it.
  • if you do not, you must report the accident at a police station or to a constable as soon as you can and in any case within 24 hours. You'll need to produce your certificate of insurance but if you don't have it when reporting the accident to the police, you may take it, within seven days of the accident, to the police station you nominate when you report the incident.
At the scene:
Note down a detailed description of what happened, collecting as much information - photographs and notes - as you can while at the scene
  • Scene - date, time, location, weather conditions, traffic conditions, road markings/signs/signals
  • Vehicles - make, model, registration number, colour, condition, estimated speed, direction, use of lights/indicators, number of passengers
  • People - contact details, description/distinguishing features of driver(s), contact details of passengers, pedestrians/other witnesses, details of any police officers involved
  • Damage - description of the damage to vehicles/property and any injuries to people involved

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