Being involved in a collision or car accident is a traumatic event that will leave many people flustered and confused in terms of how to handle the situation. With rear-end collisions, it can be difficult to determine who was at fault as there are many factors that can come into play as to why the accident occurred. One driver may have cut the other driver off. A driver could have failed to consider the space ahead of them and were unable to brake in time. In order to figure out what happened and who was at fault, it is important to take the necessary steps.
Determine What Happened
If you are involved in an accident, you’ll need to go through several steps. Of course, you will want to guarantee that everyone involved is safe and healthy and that any need for medical attention is addressed. Once it has been determined that the paramedics do not need to be at the scene, and the accident is not severe enough, resulting in the wreckage that needs tow trucks, you will need to figure out the events that occurred. If you can, and along with the other driver, you will pull off the road where it is safe to get out of your vehicle and communicate with the other party.
If it is easy to determine fault, you may proceed to file a claim with your insurance companies accordingly. Otherwise, you will need to take down each of your statements. If the accident is more serious, police will be at the scene, and they can take your statements down as an impartial third party. You will additionally need to call your insurance companies and consider getting a lawyer if you could not come to an agreement and there is a dispute regarding the accident. This will all be important later when you need to build a case for any sort of further investigations.
Keep the Records of Evidence
After you have given and taken down statements to provide to your insurance companies in order to file claims, you will need to take down evidence. This will be what helps build your case. Evidence will be in the form of photographs and videos. If your vehicle is in a safe space and you are away from danger, you should take pictures of both cars as soon as possible. Check your bumpers for damage for a rear end collision. Take pictures of the accident scene as well, as this can provide vital evidence to help determine who was at fault. Look out for things like skid marks, scratches on paint on each vehicle, and other property damages that might indicate what occurred and who might be at fault.
The Witnesses
In addition to collecting evidence, you can also seek out any witnesses to the scene. One issue with witness testimony is that the further from the accident it gets, the less reliable the statements may be, so make sure to get all these witness statements recorded to ensure you get as clear and accurate of a depiction as possible of what occurred. You may have these witnesses speak with police officers on the scene to have that information on record. Note their contact information as it may be needed down the road for further investigations.
Local Security Cameras And Other Evidence
In addition to taking down evidence after an accident has occurred, you should be on the lookout for your surroundings and if there are resources that you can use to your benefit. Many properties and businesses have camera systems set up and if you are involved in an accident in the vicinity of these cameras, you can ask these businesses for their help and access to such footage.
These private companies are not entitled to share such footage with you, but if you are conducting any sort of investigation with the police involved, they may be able to request and attain such evidence. Additionally, one precaution you can take is to install cameras on your vehicle to ensure that you have some coverage when it comes to recording what occurs on the road around you.
Suppose you find yourself in an accident or rear-end collision. In that case, it is important not to do anything hasty, to ensure that everyone involved is safe, and to record all information and evidence you can. It is important that you do this in a timely manner to ensure that the evidence you collect is fresh and accurate, but do not be in a rush so as to miss anything.