7 things to do in the 10 minutes after a car accident

"Oh no, that's not true!" This is usually the first thought that crosses your mind when you realize that you have just had a car accident. but... It's true! And the decisions you're going to take in the next few minutes are going to be very serious.

1. Stay at the scene of the accident
With the 160 000 road accidents occurring every year in Canada, the odds of being involved in a collision are high. What you will do during the 10 minutes after hooking can change the way this accident will affect your life, warns Randolph rice, a lawyer specializing in Maryland. The first thing to do after a car accident is to stay there. If you leave the premises, you may be charged with "hit-and-run", resulting in prison sentences and fines.

2. Turn on your distress lights
Draw attention to the accident by turning on your distress lights, advises Randolph rice. This will help warn other drivers that they have to slow down. "You want to prevent your accident from leading to another accident," he says to reader's Digest. If you have a flare, this is the time to use it.

3. Avoid standing on the road
It is also strongly recommended not to stay anywhere on the road after a car accident. Randolph rice warns motorists: it is dangerous to stand in a street where drivers do not expect to see pedestrians on the road.

4. Do not attempt to adjust the traffic
Always to avoid another accident, do not get into the idea of directing traffic, warns Mr. rice. It is dangerous, and you do not have the legal right to do so. Make sure you have a copy of the road emergency guide when you travel.

5. Fill out an amicable statement
No need to call the police during a collision that did not hurt. In any case, it is the insurers and not the police who will determine the responsibility of each. The police will not do it, even if they are called.

The amicable finding is therefore paramount insofar as it provides insurers with all the information they need to establish the wrongs of each. The police may, however, complete an accident report (which may be useful when it is time to file an insurance claim). It is therefore advisable to always keep an accident report form in your car.

The Group of automobile insurers has also developed an application that, downloaded on cellular, makes it possible to report very simply an accident to your insurer. If you do not have such a document, be sure to exchange all the necessary information with the parties involved.

6. Avoid talking
The minutes and even the hours following the accident can be stressful. "Drivers may feel like they remember how the accident happened," notes Randolph rice. Then the stress decreases and they begin to relive the accident. Sometimes the first impressions of the accident do not reflect what really happened. Never admit that it is your fault on the scene – this is something that will have to be determined later by the insurance companies.

7. Take pictures
"A picture is worth a thousand words," recalls Randolph rice. So take pictures of the vehicles and the scene and take more than not enough. When insurers ask how the accident occurred, people often have difficulty describing the scene. It is much easier to understand what happened when you have pictures of the scene and vehicles in front of you.