• New Cars
    • First Impressions
    • Road Tests
  • Classics
    • Classic Profiles
    • Classic Driving Impressions
    • Classics Information
    • Events and Days Out
  • Motoring For Fun
  • News & Views
  • Bookshelf
  • Technical
    • Grumpy Old Mechanic
    • Kim’s Tips
  • Features
    • Visits
    • Track Days
  • Contributors
    • About our contributors
    • Kim Henson
    • Chris Adamson
    • Kieron Fennelly
    • Ant Henson
    • Rachel Henson
    • David Miles
    • Gerald Morgan
    • Dave Moss
    • Dave Randle
    • Robin Roberts
    • Tom Scanlan
    • Glen Smale
    • Jeremy Walton
    • Keith Ward
    • John Price Williams
  • More…
    • About Wheels Alive
    • Tips for using this website
    • Useful Links

Wheels Alive

Old cars, new cars, borrowed cars & blue cars. If it steers it's here!

Old cars, new cars, borrowed cars & blue cars. If it steers it's here!

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

What to Do Immediately After a Car Accident

15th October 2020

Image by Marcel Langthim from Pixabay.

What to Do Immediately After a Car Accident

Note: This is a collaborative article.

Thankfully, car accidents aren’t things that happen to you a lot, but if you find yourself involved in one, everything can often happen very quickly. It can all become rather overwhelming, especially if you’re dealing with tough circumstances like injuries to yourself or a passenger or the other party fleeing the scene. Knowing what to do if you find yourself involved in a car accident can help ensure that you can get everything dealt with as quickly as possible and get back on the road again. If you’re unlucky enough to be involved in a car accident, these are the steps that you should take.

Get Medical Help

Your first priority should be the health and safety of yourself and those around you. If yourself or anybody else is injured, you should get help to the scene as soon as possible. Call an ambulance as a matter of priority and if anybody is seriously injured, you should administer first aid if you can. Then, you should notify the police who will be able to deal with any dangers on the scene if needed. The police can divert traffic away from the accident and arrange to have any debris on the road cleared to avoid any further incidents. You will typically be asked to provide details of the accident and will be given a Police Incident Number, which should be kept safe as you will need this for your claim.

Get Other Party Information

Providing that the other party has not fled the scene, you should note down any essential information from them such as their insurance details, registration plate number and contact details. Get the contact information for any passengers involved in either car, too.

Get Evidence

If you are able to, you should get as much evidence as possible from the scene. Speak to any witnesses at the scene, whether that’s pedestrians walking past, people who saw the accident from nearby buildings, or other drivers who have stopped to offer assistance. Ask for contact details and for a copy of any dashcam footage that may have captured the scene. Take photographs of the road, your vehicle, and make a note of anything else that could have influenced the scene such as weather conditions.

Contact Your Insurer

You should let your insurance company know that you have been involved in a collision and provide them with all the information and evidence that you have gathered from the scene. If possible, call your insurer while you are still at the scene of the accident as it will be easier to provide them with information while you are there and it is fresh.

Get Legal Advice

After the accident, get support from a professional like Smith Jones Solicitors. They can offer the most accurate source on RTA claims and can help you navigate the finer details of both your car insurance claim along with any personal injury claims that you might decide to make. If you or a passenger has been injured as a result of the collision, you may be entitled to additional compensation.

Most of us are thankfully able to avoid car accidents, but if you are unlucky enough to be involved in a road collision, knowing what to do immediately afterwards will make the entire process easier.

Save Post as PDF

Categories: News & Views

Tip: For improved search accuracy, enclose search terms for multiple words in quotation marks. For example:
"Land Rover".

Advertise with us

Recent Posts

A summer of fun at Beaulieu

Lakeland Motor Museum kicks off the start of The Club Triumph Coast 2 Coast Run

The Motor Ombudsman marks nearly one million contacts as ADR Regulations reach a decade of service

INEOS Grenadier ups its game with portal axle collaboration

New Chief Executive Officer for The British Motor Museum

Legacy of Austin pedal cars honoured with Blue Plaque at original factory site in Bargoed

Kia EV3 GT Line S – Road Test

National Motor Museum to take Sunbeam 350hp Blue Bird to Wales for the World Land Speed Record centenary

Contributors

contributors

Our well-respected contributors live and breathe motor cars; aren’t we lucky?

Contributors to the site include talented, highly-respected people (so they tell me) on the hallowed membership list of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and from the similarly well thought-of Western Group of Motoring Writers. In addition there are valued contributions from other knowledgeable and capable motoring writers who have something useful to say about all aspects of driving and running vehicles in the 21st Century. All of our team are passionate about motor cars!


Read about our contributors  ››

Tags

The Motor Ombudsman road test Beaulieu crossover Hybrid Electric City car estate Coupé British Motor Museum SUV Compact SUV plug-in hybrid Seven seater SUV MPV First Impressions Estate car Tyres large SUV saloon hatchback National Motor Museum EV 4x4 luxury SUV Suzuki Kia PHEV all-electric five door hatchback

All Tags ››

Like us on Facebook

Like us on Facebook

Wheels Alive Social

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Please share our website

Contact us

We welcome your questions, comments and feedback. Please click here to contact us.

Advertising Opportunities

Please contact us if you would like to discuss advertising opportunities on Wheels Alive.

Copyright © 2025 Kim Henson, Wheels Alive