You're driving down the road on a beautiful day, taking in the sights. Your hair moves in the wind, and the breeze feels good as it runs down your face. You can see that right in front of you is a red Mustang convertible. The Mustang's licence plate says "you think FIN..??LY." You can't see the licence plate well, so you speed up to get closer to the back of the car. As soon as you step on the gas, your car goes from fifty to sixty-five miles per hour in a flash, and before you know it, you've hit that little red Mustang from behind. At this point, your heart is beating fast, and you're mad, scared, and upset about what just happened.
You think to yourself, "What am I going to do? How did I get myself into this mess?" What just happened is so stupid that I could kick myself.
Now you have to think about what will happen and figure out what you should do next. Then, you decide to get out of your car to check on the driver of the Mustang. The driver of the Mustang, whose name was Manny, seemed to be in good health, but he was angry that I had hit his classic red prized possession, whose licence plates read "FINALLY."
First and foremost, if you're in a car accident, try to get as much information as you can from the other driver, such as their name, date of birth, licence number, address, phone number, licence plate number, vehicle type (year, make, model, and colour), and insurance information (policy number, insurance company name, & address if possible). If the other person doesn't have insurance, get their licence plate number and all the other information we've talked about. Also, if there are any witnesses at the scene, try to get their names, addresses, and phone numbers if you can. This will be a big help in figuring out who is legally responsible for causing the accident.
If the police are called to the accident scene, a report could be made. If this is the case, the police officer taking the report may separate the people involved, which could make it hard to get the identification information listed above. If this is the case, you should get the police report number so you can tell your insurance company what happened. Your insurance company will get a copy of the report, which will have all of the people's names and information about the accident.
As soon as possible, report the accident to your insurance company. Even if you plan to have your car fixed by the insurance company of the person who hit you. Most insurance companies want their customers to tell them about accidents.
If you don't tell your insurance company about the accident, you may find out later when you try to get another insurance policy that you are on what is called a KLUE report for not telling your carrier about a certain accident. This could make it harder for you to get a new policy. You might be on the KLUE report even if you did not cause the accident.
The KLUE report is a special report that most insurance companies use to find out about licenced drivers who want to get a new policy. It also tells about your past driving records.
