life is hard | life tips

three: in case of car accident!!

mkay so I feel like nobody ever really teaches you what to actually do when you get in a car accident by yourself.

so first things first. TURN ON YOUR HAZARD LIGHTS. the button is in different places depending on the vehicle (mines above my radio but my dads is above his steering wheel) make sure you know where they are!! it's like two little red triangles if that makes sense.

anyways. once you have your hazards on. try to move off the road to the shoulder or to like an empty lot if you can move your vehicle. keep your hazards on so like people know you're not trying to commit a hit and run.

next. exchange insurance with the other driver!! take a clear picture of each other's insurance card. make sure you always have that with you! i keep it in my glove box with my registration personally.

and in most cases you are going to want to call the cops! just to get the police report. if there's visible damage to your car, get a police report. your insurance is going to want a police report! also it makes it a lot harder for someone to screw you over if you are not at fault!!

next. try not to talk to the other driver. if you do NOT say anything like 'I'm sorry' or 'it's ok' because even if you're not at fault, if it goes to court, it can be seen as an admission of fault.

take pictures of your damage!! and the other cars damage if possible as well. your insurance will most likely ask you for those. take lots of pictures and document EVERYTHING you feel needs to be documented!! in case it goes to court that will come in useful!!

now. I will say personally none of the cars involved in my wreck had to be towed from the scene thankfully. but if your car seems like it may not be drivable, you can get it towed. though, I admit I've never been towed so I do not know how you would go about getting a tow truck. but best bet is if the cops are still there, ask them! or like me, ask your parents if you have a good relationship with them. im alsways asking my parents everything.

speaking of insurance. once you have the police report hard copy. report the accident to your insurance asap so they can connect you with an adjuster who sometimes will come out to look at the damage (mine didn't. they just sent us to a body shop) and send you to a body shop for a damage estimate.

and yes. insurance WILL drag it on. if the other parties insurance calls you for their 'investigation' you don't have to talk to them. also if you're under 18 I don't think they can talk to you actually. you have the option not to. they have the police report and all they need is on there. i talked to the insurance of the girl who caused my accident and they tried to trick me into saying something they could use to see their client as not at fault so they don't have to pay out for two cars damage. the at fault party's insurance will most likely try to screw you over. also uh just hope you don't get in an accident with someone who has state farm or nationwide bc based off personal experience they will very much try to screw you over. just a word for the wise.

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now my accident was def more of a tricky situation bc mainly i didn't get damage pictures of the girl at fault and she lied to her insurance in her pictures to make it look like her car was fine but I saw her car the other day and she had a dent on her front bumper :) small world isn't it

in my case, this girl hit the girl who was behind me and pushed her into me. and basically admitted to it at the scene but when it came to telling the insurance she basically said that she hit the girl behind me after she hit me which is not true bc 1. It's not what she said at the scene 2. I was only hit once and it felt like she was pushed into me. 3. Immediately after I felt the hit, I looked in my rear view and the girl behind me bounced backwards so if she was hit again she would've bounced forwards into me. 4. neither me nor the girl behind me knew what happened, and it's a pretty good assumption that if you don't know what happened/how it happened, you're probably not at fault. I actually knew the girl behind me and we both got out of our cars and she was like 'I don't know how I hit you I must've slid into you are you okay?' And then the girl who caused it came up to her and basically admitted to it.

anyways. thankfully, my insurance paid for my damage out of their pocket and is filing for reimbursement from the at fault insurance. which saves me a lot of stress bc I received letters from the girl behind me's insurance and the girl at fault's insurance saying their client isn't liable (after like a month. that's how much they drag things out). which obviously the girl behind me wasn't liable bc she was pushed into me but. it would've put pressure on me bc the insurance wouldn't pay. and the poor girl behind me (who was in the middle) is getting screwed over by the girl at fault's insurance as well. and her insurance didn't do what mine did and it's left her and her parents to deal with fighting with the insurance and figuring out how they're gonna fix their daughter's $7,700 in damage. I really do feel bad for her bc she already had a rough 2020 like all of us.

so anyways. I hoped this advice and recount of my experience helped you learn what to do!! no amount of preparation can prepare you for what it actually feels like to get in a wreck. it's gonna be scary. you're gonna be shaking. if you're on good terms with your parents, call them!! that's the first thing (after I pulled over. don't use your phone and drive!!) i did was call my dad!! that's what your parents are for us to help you. I would not have know what to do if I hadn't called him. also, they're gonna wanna know if you're ok, so call.

drive safe guys and always remember to wear. your. seatbelt!!!! always!! I would've been a whole lot more hurt if I hadn't have been wearing mine.