Things to keep in mind when confronted with Road Traffic Accident
Every day we are confronted with the same sad stories- violence, wars and disasters. This manifest that even in times like this, there is still no assurance that precious life can be safe. I cannot even recall any single daily news in the television without any reports of crime and violence somewhere.
Like for instance, early this morning as I was driving for work, I passed by a road traffic accident, causing inconvenience for a lot of people. I was lucky to be early not to get stuck in the heavy traffic jam (that occurred later) when authorities get to investigate what happen in the scene of crime.
When confronted in such situations, it is best if you knew the things that you should and shouldn’t be doing by asking the right person, in such cases that would be in the person of an “accident lawyer”.
A road traffic accident or also known as traffic collision, traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, car accident or car crash occurs when a certain road vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris and the likes. Road traffic accident can or may result to an injury, property damage and in worst case scenarios-death.
What should be done when one is involved in a road traffic accident?
A person that is involved in a road traffic accident should stop whether or not the accident was their fault according to the following circumstances:
- another vehicle, or someone else’s property, is damaged; or
- an animal in another vehicle or running across the road is injured; or
- A bollard, street lamp or other item of street furniture is damaged.
- anyone, other than themselves, is injured;
It is important to remember that when you are the driver of the road traffic accident, you must remain near the vehicle long enough (whether involved directly or indirectly in the accident) so that authorities can ask for details. The driver must then give their name and address, the name and address of the owner of the vehicle (if the driver is not the owner) and of course the registration number of the vehicle.
Cognizant to the mentioned above, the driver or anyone involved in the road traffic accident must report the accident to a police officer as soon as possible or in any case within 24 hours.
If there are instance that any personal injury have caused to another person (or anyone else whether involved directly or not) must report it to the police as soon as possible or within 24 hours.
Lastly, when involved with road traffic accident, it is important if one could obtain evidence from an independent witness. The witness will be writing down their evidences and keep their original notes, as it may be some time before any claims are settled or court proceedings are heard. By this time, persons who are involved whether directly or indirectly in the road traffic accident must also obtain a personal injury lawyer to be their legal representation.