Car accidents happen all the time, that’s nothing new. However, a lot of people still don’t know how to act and what to do once they find themselves in that situation.
Even if you’re the most careful driver in the world, you might end up in a road traffic accident that’s not your fault. In this case, you may have the right to file a road traffic accident claim.
However, not many people know this. This is why it’s important to be familiar with the law and legal requirements in case of an accident.
It can be very helpful so when an accident happens, you can be prepared and know exactly what you and others involved in it need to do.
Road traffic accidents – the law
If an injury or any kind of damage is caused to somebody else (or to an animal) by a motor vehicle, all the drivers involved in the accident must stop and exchange information.
This information exchange refers to names and addresses of the drivers and/or owners of the vehicle, as well as to details of registration marks.
In addition, if the injury was caused, a valid certificate of insurance or security must be given to any person if he/she requires it (if, of course, he/she has a reasonable ground to require it).
If someone involved in the accident doesn’t act according to this law, then other drivers have a legal obligation to report it to the police.
Reporting the circumstances must be done as soon as possible, often within the first 24 hours of the accident. To avoid accidents on the road, read more on this guide to road safety in the US.
What does this mean in lay terms?
Even though you might think the first part where we talked about stopping after the accident is obvious and logical, you’d be surprised to see just how many people don’t obey this.
Some are not aware that they’ve been involved in an accident, while others intentionally run away from the scene.
When you stop, you must wait for a reasonable period of time – this is subjective and depends on location, time of day, etc.
After everyone has stopped, it’s time to get to know the names of others involved in that accident and also to give your name to them.
The most important information you should get from other drivers is insurance details.
Those details must be given in the event that injury has occurred and in the event that those involved know there was an injury.
This means that if there’s no apparent injury at the time of the crash, there’s also no requirement to produce insurance details.
It’s important to note that in the majority of cases, the police take care of these steps and legal requirements, but it’s better to know them just in case.
The penalties you could be facing if you don’t stop or you fail to report the accident can be quite harsh, but also if you were driving without insurance.
Drive safe and be responsible!
