Accident

ergonomics

Hey,

My friends car was in an accident last night. It was parked half on the path outside our house and a passing car hit it. Thankfully the guy driving stopped and got his parents to come (he was a learner) and then passed on all his information. The father didn't want to go through his son's insurance but agreed to pay for the repairs, which will probably consist on a new panel over the wheel and a new passenger door, although my friend is thinking of just going through a panel beater.

The whole thing made me realise that although myself and my friends have all been driving for a while none of us knew what to do in the situation so can anyone shed some light on proper procedure? Should the guards have been called (I don't think they wanted to in case the L-driver got in trouble for driving unaccompanied)? Basically, just what are the basic steps when dealing with a small crash?

jimmycrackcorm

The guards would just tell you it is a civil matter and to sort it out by yourselves.

rebel.ranter

The Gardai should be called, the guy could now say that it never happened, who is to know?

You should always try to take photos of the two damaged cars. Always carry a camera (e.g. disposable) for such an event.

Make sure you note down all the details of the driver's license & insurance of the other car.

Check to make sure everyone is OK.

Carry a fire extinguisher, in case of fire. You can get small extinguishers suitable for car use.

Carry High Vis jackets, in case the accident is at night & you have to direct traffic, these jackets are less than €5.

I know it's nice to be nice but the L driver has had his warnings about not driving unaccompanied. I know you want to protect him from further trouble but is it really helping?

Lumen

I think the time-honoured approach is:

- Report it to the police.
- Report it to the insurance companies.
- Bend over (to degrees proportional to blame, as assessed by the insurance companies).

Bear in mind that you are duty bound to report any accident to your insurance company, whether or not it's your fault, and regardless of whether you make a claim.

Of course, lots of people do not choose this path, but by doing so you're putting a lot of faith in the other party (which may be a benevolent thing, or a stupid thing, depending on your nature).

Del2005

Lumen wrote: »

I think the time-honoured approach is:

- Report it to the police.
- Report it to the insurance companies.
- Bend over (to degrees proportional to blame, as assessed by the insurance companies).

Bear in mind that you are duty bound to report any accident to your insurance company, whether or not it's your fault, and regardless of whether you make a claim.

Of course, lots of people do not choose this path, but by doing so you're putting a lot of faith in the other party (which may be a benevolent thing, or a stupid thing, depending on your nature).

This is the correct way, for an accident only involving material damage. The Gardai have better things to be doing then responding to every fender bender that happens. We waited 2.5 hours for them to turn up to a hit and run!!

All you need to do is report it within 24 hours to your insurance co and the Gardai. Get the other persons details. Get plenty of photos of the cars before moving them. And any witnesses names and addresses.

TheNog

After an accident the first thing you should do is stop and take details of any witnesses to the collision and then call the local station. We are not obliged to go to what we call a material damage collision such as what happened to your friends car. Obviously if there was major damage caused or injury involved we will go. In most occasions we will go anyway to a material damage accident if there is nothing more serious on at the time. As far as the young fella driving unaccompanied, there is nothing that can be done there from a Garda perspective unless there is a witness willing to make a statement and go to court (unlikely) or if the Garda actually witnessed the young fella driving himself.

If you are involved in a collision here is what you should do:

*check everyone to ensure no one is injured

*if someone is injured, diall 999 immediately and request an ambulance first then request the presence of the Gardai. Remember calling the Gardai is not to get someone into trouble. Our main objective is to prevent more injuries and make the scene safe for those involved in the collision and for emergency crews like EMTs and Fire brigade if required

*take details of the other driver such as name, address and contact number

*take details of their car such as make, model, reg no., insurance policy (company name and policy no. from the insurance disc)

*if the collison is of a minor type (with no injuries) and you have a camera phone take pictures of the scene especially the position of the cars involved. Encourage the other driver to do the same

*remember if the collision is of a minor type the Garda does not have to determine who was at fault. That is the job of the insurance companies to sort out amongest themselves. Our job at the scene is take details and ensure there is no injuries

*if you have done all of the above make sure you have your driving licence and insurance certificate (if you have it) to hand for the Garda to look at. This will make sure that you or the Garda will be delayed more than need be

*if you don't have your driving licence or insurance don't worry, the Garda will make the demand of you to produce the documents within 10 days at any station you choose. The big word here is DEMAND, not if you want or whenever you want. If you fail to produce your documents you could be summonsed to court for failing to do that. The reason behind the demand is to make sure you actually have a driving licence and insurance. Obviously you are able to produce at the scene you will not be asked to produce.

*ask the Garda for his/her name and where they are stationed. This will make sure you have a contact if you forget to take any of the above details

*if you do not know the street or townsland where the collision happened, ask the Garda (don't be surprised if we don't know ). Also record the time the accident happened

*contact your insurance company when you get home regardless if the damage is going to be done without going through a claim. No harm having a record.

I realise for some people they will be in shock and not get all the details they need from the other driver or from the Garda so best thing to do is again get the name of the Garda. The Garda will record the details of the accident on PULSE including names, insurance details, cars, location etc. It is good idea to have a small notebook and pen in your car and keep it there. There is alot of details you need to take.

Hope this helps

Bandara

rebel.ranter wrote: »

The Gardai should be called, the guy could now say that it never happened, who is to know?

You should always try to take photos of the two damaged cars. Always carry a camera (e.g. disposable) for such an event.

Make sure you note down all the details of the driver's license & insurance of the other car.

Check to make sure everyone is OK.

Carry a fire extinguisher, in case of fire. You can get small extinguishers suitable for car use.

Carry High Vis jackets, in case the accident is at night & you have to direct traffic, these jackets are less than €5.

I know it's nice to be nice but the L driver has had his warnings about not driving unaccompanied. I know you want to protect him from further trouble but is it really helping?

+1
Pretty good advice there

I got a flat years ago at the side of the Dublin Galway road on a bad bend at nighttime. Looking back on it I could easily have been killed as I had no equipment to alert motorists to me hunkering down on the road changing the tyre as cars whizzed 7 ft from my head.

I also add a good torch to rebels list.

I too would report the L driver, if he is unable to drive down the street without hitting a parked car it tells how little knowledge he has about his road positioning etc. He is not fit to drive alone, especially at nighttime.

ergonomics

Thanks all. Some really good information there. I'm not sure what my friend is going to do about his car but at least I know for myself what I should do. Touch wood I'll never have to use the information, but I thought that it was better to know it than to have to guess if it should happen!