What do you do after a car accident?

Answer 1

This is for in the UK (though I suspect just about everywhere as most of it is common sense): If anyone is injured, regardless of how lightly (i.e. even just a cut or bruise), you MUST call the police. It is a criminal offence not to do so. If you have an accident completely on your own and no other vehicles are involved: It is largely up to you what you do. If no-one is injured and your car is not badly damaged, you may wish to drive on and consider it a lesson learnt. If you have comprehensive insurance, you may choose to claim from your insurance company for the repairs to your car, but you will have a more expensive premium the next year. If your car is badly damaged and/or in a position where you cannot drive away (e.g. if it has fallen down a ditch), you will need to call a breakdown company. If it is in a position where it is an obstruction to other road users, or where property has been damaged, you should inform the police. If you have an accident with another driver:

If anyone is badly injured, call an ambulance as well as the police. If your car is damaged and you wish to claim through your insurance, the other driver has a legal obligation to tell you his/her details - name, address, phone number and insurance company. Likewise, if the other driver wishes to use their insurance to repair their damage, you must give your details to them, even if you feel that the accident was not your fault. If there is a disagreement between the parties involved about who was to blame, your respective insurance companies will ask you to make a statement, and they will decide between themselves who was to blame for the accident. Liability can be 100% against one driver, 50/50, or anything in between. A driver who is judged to have caused the accident (whether partially or fully) will suffer a more expensive premium when they renew their insurance. Additionally, if you are hiring the vehicle, you must inform the hire car company straightaway. They may have their own procedures for dealing with an accident, on top of the standard legal procedures, but this varies from company to company.