Getting into a car crash - What do you do? Tips for teens
Nobody wants to ever get in a car crash. Besides from the damage to your car, you or others can get hurt.
We try our best to stay safe, but sometimes 'life happens' and you can get in a crash. If this happens, there are a few things that you can do.
After you get into a crash, be it with another car or against something, you will feel a lot of emotions like shock, or feeling guilty or nervous or scared.
The first thing you need to do is to try and calm yourself by taking a few deep breaths. You need to be calm before you face the situation, especially if you bumped against somebody or somebody bumped against you. It is not good to be in a frantic state if you need to speak to the other person involved in the accident.
If it was a bad accident and you cannot get out of your car, stay seated, with your safety belt on and phone the emergency number. Also switch on your hazards that other cars can see you clearly.
If you can still drive your car move it out of the road to a safe spot, so that you do not block other traffic.
Make sure that you, your passengers and the people in the other car/s are not injured. Remember that even if a person does not show any injuries, but they are not feeling well, they can have internal injuries and it is better to go to the hospital for observation.
If you phone the emergency service, you will need to give certain information.
Who? The dispatcher will ask for your name and phone numbers in case the authorities need to get more information from you later.
What? Tell the dispatcher as much as you can about the emergency — for instance, whether there is a fire, traffic hazard, medical emergency, etc.
Where? Let the dispatcher know exactly where the emergency is taking place. Give the city, road name, road number, mile markings, direction of travel, traffic signs, and anything else you can think of to help them know how to find you..
If another car was involved in the accident, or caused the accident, make sure you get all the detail from the other driver. Information like his ID, his address, telephone number and insurance detail.
It is also a good idea to take photos of the scene and the vehicles to use as reference if needed.
Even though the accident itself can be upsetting, the 'after effects' can also be traumatizing. You are maybe hurt or your car is damaged or you just take a while to deal with the shock of the accident.
It can all be upsetting, but at the end of the day, even if you have lost your car, be thankful that you are okay.
Do not replay the accident over and over in your head, this will just upset you more. It has happened and there is no use living in the past.
If you really have problems dealing with the 'aftermath' of the accident, speak to your parents or go and see a professional who can help you.
ohaughey here. This article is very good but, as an accident investigator myself, retired I should say, the best thing to do is prevent an accident from happening in the first place. There is really no such thing as an accident. Somebody did something they should not have done that caused the accident to happen, or set off a series of events that lead up to the accident. I have never investigated an accident that did not have a cause. If everyone followed the rules and did everything correctly, there would be no accidents. Well, you might say, what if I am driving past a construction site and I am doing everything right and a big steel beam falls down from the building and hits my car. That is not my fault, right? No. it is not your fault but, it is the fault of the persons handling the beam by failling to properly handle the beam and letting it fall in the fist place.
Most accidents happen because of what the drivers are doing, or not doing. Believe it or not, the most common cause of accfdents is not speeding or even drunk driving, it is not paying attention to your driving. People will light a smoke, mess with the radio, be eating or drinking while driving, or, some women will be putting on their make up while driving down the street looking into thieir rear view mirror and trying to keep their eyes on the road at the same time, but the big one these days is texting while driving. You can not control what the other driver is doing but,you can control what you are doing. Obey all the traffic laws. If the posted speed limit is 25 MPH, go 25 mph, even if everyone else is going faster. Do what the law says to do, not what everyone else is doing.
Keep your car up so it is always safe to drive. I don't know how many accidents I investigated where one of the cars, and sometimes both cars, had bald tires. You can not drive safely with bald tires.
Make sure your exhaust system is working properly or you may just go to sleep at the wheel. Not a good thing. You should have your car inspected at least once a year. One last word, if you do not have a driver's license or your license has be restricted for some reason, DON'T DRIVE. Follow this advice and you may live longer. Thank you.
Very true - I agree - thank you for your input
Thanks for sharing!
People need to realize you can run over and even kill someone while behind the wheel. Be extra careful where there is a possibility that pedestrians can come close to your driving path. Parking lots are a very common place for car to pedestrian and car to car accidents.
Keep your eyes on the road, if you are at a crossing take your time making sure the pedestrian or other driver noticed you.
Turn off your cell phone;D
Happy motoring!
Thank you - all very true - especially teenagers and new drivers forget this because they think they know everything