What to Do After an Out of Town Car Crash
Nothing is scarier than a car accident. Except maybe a car crash that happens out of town. Collisions can bring up intense and overwhelming feelings of fear and helplessness. When a crash occurs in a place that’s unfamiliar, those emotions intensify. Each state has varying laws about what steps to take after an accident. Even who will respond to a crash can vary from state to state.
But there are ways to lower the negative emotional and financial impact of an out-of-state or city fender bender. For starters, stay calm and embrace our out-of-town collision tips!
Take Usual Precautions
There are some steps that are necessary regardless of where an accident occurs. If you’re involved in a collision, always check for injuries. Move the vehicle if possible and contact the police for help. Even if the wreck was minor, make sure to follow these steps.
In some cities, such as Las Vegas, the police may not come out to make an accident report for minor crashes. Still, you want to report the crash to the proper authorities so that it can be documented for insurance purposes. A police report will help you when filing an insurance claim later on.
Next, take pictures of damage to any vehicles involved and also anything surrounding the crash site. Think of things that might be helpful were you to go to trial. This might include the other vehicle and signage such as speed limits, yield signs or other traffic signals.
Because you likely won’t be returning to an out-of-town crash site, document as thoroughly as possible right after the collision occurs.
Get Detailed Driver Info
In almost all crashes, driver information will be exchanged. Unless one of the drivers is severely injured, a conversation and exchange should take place at the scene. This can occur with or without an officer present. Regardless, you should gather your own evidence.
In out-of-town collisions, it is important to get as much information about the other driver as possible. Make sure you have a correct address for their insurance agency. Ask for extra contact info such as a work phone number in case they can’t be reached at the number provided. Also, take down the contact info of any witnesses that might be able to verify your version of the story.
Although this might sound a bit pushy, you’ll be glad you did the grunt work later when your insurance claim is processed seamlessly.
Contact Insurance
Once the on-site business is taken care of, you should contact your insurance company to determine if they will pay for tow coverage to a collision center of your choice and if rental reimbursement is available.
Depending on how far you are from home and when you need to return, it might be worth the extra expense to have your vehicle taken to a repair shop you are comfortable with rather than having repairs made nearby. This is especially true if there is extensive damage or if parts have to be ordered.
When you have a collision and need auto body repair mesa, insurance companies will recommend one or more body shops to you but the choice is always yours where you want to go. The local shops that contract with the insurance companies are usually required to order lower quality parts and do the work for a cheaper price (reducing quality).
At Orlando Auto Body we strive to use OME parts whenever possible maintain extremely high standards for our technicians and the work they do. If you’ve had a collision, at home or out of town call us at 480-428-2783!
