At The Scene Of Your Car Accident . . . Protect The Scene Against Further Injury Or Damage

It should be a high priority to protect the scene and those involved from further damage or injury. What does that mean? Many times secondary accidents . . . where approaching vehicles strike the stopped accident vehicles . . . are even more serious than the primary car accident.

If you have a minor fender-bender, you can move the cars off the roadway so other traffic can get by. Move to the closest place where you and the other driver can safely talk and exchange information. (Even in this situation, however, it is a good idea to whip out your cell phone camera and take several photos of the cars and the scene of the collision before you move the cars . . . just in case you need them later.

On the other hand, if your car accident is serious . . . with considerable damage to the vehicles or injuries . . . even if the cars can be moved, you should not move them until the police arrive, especially if it looks like there could be a question about who caused the accident. Leave the vehicles in place to help the police determine how the accident happened and who caused it. This, in turn, is important because "who pays" legal issues usually depend on who caused the collision. And, although they may do independent investigations, insurance companies rely heavily on police accident reports and findings when they make decisions about paying claims.

Therefore, if your accident has blocked the roadway and you can?t move the vehicles -- or don?t want to move them until the police arrive -- protect the scene and warn approaching drivers. These are some of the things you can do to protect the scene . . .

1. Station someone to warn and direct oncoming traffic.
2. Turn on the warning flashers on the vehicles.
3. If it is dark, light the scene by using flares or vehicle headlights.
4. Display reflective triangles.

Click here to return from "protect the scene" to the list of 8 things you should do . . . and not do . . . at the scene of your car accident.