At The Scene Of Your Car Accident . . . Call The Police

Of course, if there are injuries or the accident caused a great deal of damage to the cars, someone should call 911 as soon as possible. Trained police officers can be invaluable at the scene of your car accident. They can provide or call for emergency medical care . . . they can protect the accident scene . . . and they can investigate and document the cause of the accident. In cases involving injuries, substantial damage to the vehicles or significant motor vehicle law violations, the officer will write a police report. Make sure to get the name and telephone number of the officer and the police agency that the officer represents so you can get a copy of the accident report after it's written. Also get the report number if it's available.  There will probably be a small charge for the police report, but it's worth it. The police accident report is a critical document which is relied on heavily by everyone involved in the claims process.

What if you have a fender-bender with no injuries?

Should you still call the police? My answer is . . . yes, no matter how minor the accident. A police officer can help you sort things out, and document what happened in case that becomes important in the future.  However, in most metropolitan areas, the police probably won't come to the scene of your minor fender-bender. They will simply tell you to exchange information with the other driver. The police will not prepare a report in this situation.

If they do come to your minor accident, they may give it a low priority. It could take 20 or 30 . . . or 60 . . . minutes after you call the police for the officer to arrive. Wait for them.  If you don't call the police . . . or they tell you to just exchange information with the other driver . . . what information should you exchange?

This is the information you must get from the other driver . . . and give the other driver, as well.

1. Name
2. Address
3. Telephone numbers
4. Name of car insurance company
5. Policy number
6. Name, address and telephone number of insurance representative that you should contact about this accident.
7. License plate number (and state in which the car is registered)

Ask to see documents from which you can copy this information, such as a driver's license and an insurance verification card. Why? Sometimes, drivers . . . such as those who don't have insurance . . . will give false information if you don't verify what they are telling you. If they won't verify their information, call the police and insist that the driver stay until the police arrive.

If you are suspicious about the information you are getting, call the other driver's insurance company from the scene of the accident to verify for yourself that the other driver has given you accurate information. But only verify coverage. Don't give accident details to the other driver's insurance company. Not yet. You'll do that later, after you get away from the scene of your accident, calm down and get any advice that you want. Click here to learn more about the things you should do after your car accident.

If you call the police to your accident scene, what should you do while you are waiting for them to arrive?

After you assess the situation, help anyone who is hurt, and protect the scene against further damage, you should gather information and write it down.

Don't make any agreements with the other driver at the scene.

Speak only with the police about the cause of your accident. Honestly provide the information that the officer requests, but be careful what you say even to the officer.