After an accident
If you've been in an accident, you can sometimes find yourself wondering what to do. We've put together some helpful tips to follow:
Safety first
Before you do anything, check the area and make sure everyone is safe. Move away from any traffic and hazards and call Tas Police or Ambulance to assist anyone that may have been hurt during the accident.
Exchange details
You'll need to swap details with the drivers and owners of any other vehicles involved. If anyone's property was damaged, you'll also need to grab their details.
Things to get include their:
name,
address,
driver's licence number,
registration number and,
a description of the car.
A handy tip is to take photos of things such as damage to cars, debris and the impact point as it's sometimes rare to have a pen and paper handy. The benefit of doing this, means you'll also have time stamps for later on as well. These photos could be used as evidence for your claim, so be objective and grab some images of other relevant things such as landmarks or the cause of the accident etc.
Take the approach that the more information you have, the better.
If you have full comprehensive insurance and the driver hasn't given you their details, you'll need to claim against them through your own insurance company to recover the cost of any repairs.
Calling the police
According to Tasmanian Road Rule 287 (3) from Road Rules 2019, you need to notify police if:
Anyone is killed or injured.
Any other driver(s) involved does not willingly exchange their details as required, in accordance with Road Rule 287, section 2 or;
A vehicle involved in the crash needed to be towed.
Remove any traffic hazards
If the vehicles aren't causing any traffic issues they're fine to stay where they are while you exchange details. If they're blocking traffic, move them to the side of the road after you've taken some photos of the accident.
Confirm details
Confirm the time and location of the event with any other people involved. We suggest you don't admit to any wrong doing at the scene of the accident as this may affect any insurance claims. For more information on making a claim, head to our Insurance Claims page.
Driving away
You'll need to make sure your car is safe to drive before leaving so as to not damage it further or risk another accident.
For example, if your headlights are damaged, fluid is dripping from the vehicle or it's just feeling different to drive you should call your insurance claims area and await next steps.