Reckless driving and road accidents can be fatal and are sadly a common occurrence in our day-to-day lives. Due to their common nature, they are followed by lawsuits and damage claims which takes up a big chunk of time of the civil justice system. Such behavior can prove to be life-threatening in both physical and economic ways, depending on the severity of the accident, and one must know how to behave and what to do right after a road accident. Your actions right after the accident are what will determine if you’re going to win the lawsuit or not, so here are a few things you should know to be able to defend your rights.
Awareness & Documentation
One of the first things you need to do after a road accident is try to contain yourself and be aware of the situation and your surroundings. It’s a tough job, depending on the amount of shock you are in, but it’s imperative to be aware of the physical and financial damage done by the situation. After you’ve come to your senses, you need to document as much information as you can by clicking pictures or making a video of how things unfolded, you can also try to have a few conversations with witnesses to see what they have to say. All of this information could help you further down the line when you take the other person to court. If you’re not in a position to handle a car crash financially, or for general evidence’s sake, we would suggest investing in a dash camera. Dash cameras can record all events unfolding in the car’s POV, and they have proven to be the most useful and substantial pieces of evidence being used in courts.
Reaction
Your reaction afterward should be completely and utterly knowledge-based. Most people who get into a car accident immediately choose to defend themselves and show aggression towards the other person involved. The best thing you can do initially is to check if everyone involved is physically and mentally okay, including yourself. Secondly, your knowledge of the actions that constitute reckless driving should be what your reaction is based on because there is a significant difference between negligent driving and reckless driving. Negligent driving involves “people who failed to take reasonable care of other motorists and pedestrians while operating their vehicle.”
In contrast, reckless driving is a criminal offense and involves intent to disrupt and endanger other people who are on the road at the time. All of your reactions directly translate to your claim in the future, so it’s always best to stay as professional and patient as you possibly can. These situations tend to get aggressive amongst people, and it’s best to avoid another court case or further altercations between the people involved. If the other person is still aggressive or intoxicated, then try to document your exchange, so that it’s known that whatever you did was a matter of self-defence.
Contact Law Enforcement
The best way to defend your rights if you think you’re not in the wrong is to contact law enforcement immediately. All of the documentation and communication that you had done prior to their arrival will pay off once you file a police report. This report should include all possible reasons that could have contributed to the crash, including road conditions and other factors that could’ve caused any issues. Once you’ve involved law enforcement at the scene, you need to make sure all of your ends are cleared and this police report will support your case and will allow you to make a valid claim to the court and your insurance company. Try and get your car inspected after the crash and have the mechanics write up a report to ensure there was no mechanical issue with your car that could’ve caused the crash. Once you’ve done that, you should not be afraid to file damages claim or convict someone for reckless driving because you have all you need.
Apart from all of these preventive measures, the best thing you can do is to drive as carefully as possible and avoid crashes as much as you can. Defensive driving and awareness allow you to be mindful enough to avoid people who are driving recklessly. As drivers, we should all be aware of the cars around us and the condition of the drivers in the cars. Who is distracted by their phone, who might be drunk based on the way they are driving, who is driving recklessly for the sake of driving fast? All of these scenarios are very plausible and common, so we as drivers need to keep our eyes out for any such anomalies driving around as it’s the only way to protect ourselves from harm at the end of the day.