1. If you are involved in a motor
accident, in terms of the Road Traffic Ordinances, there are clear duties
imposed on you if you are involved in or contribute to an accident on a public
road, in which another person is killed
or injured or suffers damages in respect of any property or animal. Here is what you should do :
* Stop your vehicle
immediately. Of course, you do not need
to stop at an accident if, for example, you hit a tree and only damage your own
car or injure yourself. There is a legal
and, indeed, a moral obligation on you to report a collision to your nearest
police station if you hit a lamp standard or say a stationary vehicle and the
accident is not witnessed.
* Check the nature and extent of
any injury to another person.
* If the person has been hurt,
do all you can to help by administering first aid, (if you know how), summons
the police and, if necessary, an ambulance.
If you know nothing about first aid, please do not try to render
assistance as this may do more harm than good!
* Determine the nature and
extent of any damage suffered.
* If you are required to do so
by any person entitled to such information, provide and obtain the following
information :
+ name, address and telephone
number of both drivers name, address and telephone number of the owners of the
vehicles
+ registration numbers of both
vehicles
+ names of the driver’s / owner’s
insurance company / insurance broker
+ full details of the place and
time of the collision and the road conditions and visibility at the time
+ a short note (to jog your
memory) of what you recall occurred immediately before and at the time of the
collision (including a description of what happened, the speed at which the
vehicles were travelling, whether the lights were on or off, whether the other
driver was indicating etc.,)
+ if you are fortunate enough to
have a camera or cellphone with you at the time of the collision, take
photographs of the scene of the collision from various angles. If not, it is
always a good idea to return to the
scene as soon as possible thereafter, to take the necessary photographs
+ measure distances from the
point of the collision to identifiable landmarks such as traffic lights, lamp
standards, stop signs and the like and make a rough sketch showing the position
of the vehicles immediately before and after the collision
+ if you are fortunate enough to
have witnesses, make sure to take down their full names, addresses and
telephone numbers
+ do not admit liability for the collision, whether to the driver of the
other car, a bystander or to the Police, as this may prejudice any claim
that you may have either against the other driver or in respect of your policy
of insurance . On the other hand, if
the other driver apologizes for the collision and admits liability, do not
hesitate to have him sign a written admission of liability there and then and,
if possible, have that statement witnessed.
On the other hand, if he is not prepared to commit his apology to
writing, endeavour to persuade him to make his admission in the presence of a
responsible official, such as a police officer
+ if a person or animal has been
injured, you are not allowed to move the
vehicles, even if they obstruct the traffic until you are given permission to
do so by a traffic officer or unless either vehicle completely obstructs the
road. However, if you do move either
vehicle, it is important to chalk out
its position before doing so. On the
other hand, if no-one has been injured, it would be important to move the
vehicles out of the road to prevent a further collision with oncoming traffic
+ if you are obliged to have your
car towed away, agree the charges in advance, otherwise you could be in for a
nasty shock when presented with the bill later.
Similarly, if you are a member of the Automobile Association (AA), make
sure that only an approved tow-in service is utilised, as the AA will not pay
for such service otherwise and you could be substantially out of pocket
+ if there is a traffic officer
at the scene of the collision, you are obliged to provide him with such
information as he may require. If you do
not give this information to such official, you must within 24 hours of the
accident, report it at a police station
or at an authorised office of a traffic officer (unless you are injured and
cannot do so timeously, in which event you must report the accident as soon as
is reasonably practicable thereafter). When you report the accident, give only the
bare essentials and do not commit
yourself to a written statement
before consulting your insurance company or attorney.
+ as soon as possible, advise
your broker of the accident (even if you do not intend to claim), as the other
driver may lay a claim at a later stage
2. Keeping the above in mind, it
would be advisable to carry in your car
a pen, paper, a first aid kit, torch and red reflective triangles
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