What to Do After a Car Accident
What to Do After a Car Accident
Most people are badly shaken immediately after being involved in a car accident. We recommend that you take the time to review the steps you should follow in this scenario now to help avoid costly and time-consuming mistakes in such a situation, and to help reduce the amount of anxiety that you are likely to face during the situation.
A) Before Any Accident:
A) Before Any Accident:
Always keep inside your car’s glove compartment the following items:
* A notepad
* A working pen
* A copy of your motor insurance certificate
* A list of emergency phone numbers including those of: the police, hospitals and/or ambulance services, trusted family and friends whom you would like to alert in the event of an emergency.
It is also useful to keep in a visible place in your car – e.g. in a corner of your windshield that doesn’t obstruct your visibility while driving:
* Your Insurance Company’s car sticker bearing its name & 24-hour hotline number
* If you subscribe to AAM, the AAM car sticker bearing its name & 24-hour hotline number
B) At the Scene of the Accident:
B) At the Scene of the Accident:
* Stop your vehicle. If it is not safe to stop it at the accident scene, pull over at the nearest possible safe place. Take reasonable steps to protect your car from further damage.
* If you are in a location where you feel unsafe – e.g. at night in a remote location or in a seedy part of town, we recommend that you call the Police. You may also wish to call a trusted friend to come to the accident scene to accompany you.
* Survey the scene. Identify if anyone is seriously injured. Depending on the situation, call the police / ambulance.
* Make Notes (please see the section below on Notes to Take)
* Call your Insurance Company’s 24-hour hotline for assistance. Inform them of your accident, your vehicle registration number, your location and any other important information that they may ask from you. If your vehicle requires towing, request it from them.
* Do NOT admit liability to anyone at the scene of the accident
* Do NOT admit liability to anyone at the scene of the accident
* Take photos of the damage to both vehicles – close up shots to indicate the extent of the damage as well as perspective shots to identify the parts of the vehicle that were damaged.
* Take photos of the accident location – both close up shots and perspective shots. Take photos from different angles and distances from the scene to make it as easy as possible for the investigating police officer to understand what happened.
C) Notes to Take
C) Notes to Take
* Obtain the other party’s: NRIC number, full name and address as per NRIC, vehicle registration number, vehicle make & model, vehicle color and phone number. It is recommended to get several phone numbers – home, office and mobile – to make it easier for you to reach them if needed.
* Obtain the other party’s: NRIC number, full name and address as per NRIC, vehicle registration number, vehicle make & model, vehicle color and phone number. It is recommended to get several phone numbers – home, office and mobile – to make it easier for you to reach them if needed.
* If the owner of the vehicle is a different person from the driver of the vehicle, we also recommend that you get the owner’s name and phone numbers.
* If the owner of the vehicle is a different person from the driver of the vehicle, we also recommend that you get the owner’s name and phone numbers.
* We also recommend that you ask for the other party’s insurance policy number and the name of their Insurance Company.
* If there are witnesses, record their names, phone numbers and addresses.
* If police officers or other official / emergency personnel are at the scene, note down their names and badge numbers.
D) Preparing & Lodging a Police Report
D) Preparing & Lodging a Police Report
* According to Malaysian law, you MUST lodge a police report within 24 hours of the accident. Failure to do so is an offense.
* Write down what happened in your report. Be sure to state on which road both parties were traveling, in what direction, and where the accident happened. Other important information to state include: the date and time of the accident, the names, NRIC numbers and vehicle registration numbers of both parties, and vehicle make and model.
* Make a sketch of the accident scene – indicating street names and landmarks like traffic lights, petrol stations, stop signs / one-way signs, etc. Also indicate the location of both vehicles immediately before the accident and the location where the accident happened. We recommend that you submit this sketch to the Police together with your police report.
* Go to the nearest police station to lodge your police report. Do note that depending on the location of the jurisdiction boundary lines, the officers at the nearest police station may redirect you to a different police station (because the accident location falls into a different police station’s jurisdiction).