1. Find a safe place to pull over
a. Do not attempt to chase the other vehicle either on foot or in your
own car. You need to ensure that both you and your vehicle are out of
harm’s way. Your safety is always the most important factor.
2. Once you and your vehicle are out of traffic, call the police immediately
a. Calling the police right away is critical, even if you don’t
have any identification on the vehicle or driver that hit you. If you
do not contact the police right away and get a police incident report
started your insurance company could hold this lack of reporting against
you when you go to file a claim.
3. Collect and record any and all evidence
a. Once you’ve called the police you’ll have some waiting
time and it is best to use that time wisely. Write down any information
you can remember about the vehicle and driver that hit you, take photos
of your vehicle and the accident scene from every angle, and write down
the events of the accident (including directly before and after the collision)
so you can provide them to the police and later your insurance. If you’re
able to remember a license plate or even a particle license plate your
chances of the police or your insurer finding the drive go up considerably.
4. Locate a witness if you can
a. If someone else saw the accident and stopped it is a good idea to write
down both their contact info and their description of the accident and
other vehicle. It may also be a good idea to look for any street or other
security cameras that may have caught and recorded the incident.
5. File a claim with your insurance company
a. Once you have a completed police report, or even before everything
is filled out, it is a good idea to contact your insurance company to
report the accident and begin the claim and recovery process.
