Also get their name, address, phone number, insurance company, insurance policy number, and license plate number. If the other driver doesn't own the vehicle involved, be sure to get the owner's info as well. If the crash is minor and you feel that you can describe it, try to take pictures and put the details in writing. Detailed notes and photos of the scene may help the court and insurance agencies decide who is responsible.
Get a good description of the vehicles involved — year, make, model, and color. Take photos of the scene — including the vehicles and any damage, the roads, any traffic signs, and the direction each vehicle was coming from.
Try to draw a diagram of the exact crash site and mark where each car was, what direction the car was coming from, and what lane it was in. Write down the date, time, and weather conditions. If there were any witnesses, try to get their names and contact info so that they can help clear up matters if one of the other drivers isn't completely honest about what really happened. You can only do these things if you think the collision was minor for instance, if the airbag did not inflate.
If the crash is major, you want to involve the police. Even if you think a crash was your fault, it might not be. That's why insurance companies say that you should not admit fault or accept blame at the scene.
While the crash itself might be upsetting, dealing with the aftermath can be too. In the hours or days following a collision, some people may still be shaken up. They may be beating themselves up over what happened — especially if they feel the crash was avoidable. Sometimes, people close to those who were involved like families and best friends can experience some emotional problems too. These feelings are all normal. Once some time passes, the car is repaired, and the insurance companies are dealt with, most car crashes become mere afterthoughts.
In some cases, though, these feelings can get stronger or last for longer periods of time, keeping a person from living a normal life. Posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD can occur after a devastating event that injured or threatened to injure someone. Signs of PTSD may show up immediately following the crash, or weeks or even months after.
Not everyone who experiences stress after a trauma has PTSD. But here are some symptoms to look out for:. If you notice any of these symptoms after you've been in a car crash, try talking through the experience with friends or relatives you trust. Discuss what happened, and what you thought, felt, and did during the collision and in the days after. Try to get back into your everyday activities, even if they make you uneasy.
If these things don't help, ask your parent or guardian to help you check in with your doctor. Plenty of people have minor incidents — like running over the mailbox while backing out of the driveway. Somewhere between hitting mailboxes and hitting other cars are common problems like blowouts and breakdowns. Getting a flat tire while you're driving can be jarring — literally. To prevent this, make sure your tires aren't too old and check your tire pressure at least once a month.
If you do find yourself in a blowout situation, here are a few suggestions from AAA to get you through it safely:. If your vehicle breaks down, safely bring it to a stop and out of the line of traffic — as far off the roadway as possible.
Willoughby notes that if a car is damaged while it was in a customer's care overnight, the scenario becomes a lot more complicated. A car dealership also has the right to refuse test-drives. Willoughby lays out some common scenarios where the dealership might decline to let a customer test a car:. So, if you have your eye on that limited edition Mustang or Corvette, just be aware that the sales team is going to be wary of anyone who just wants to go for a joyride.
Every dealer kind of makes their own call on that," says Willoughby. What would happen if you were out on a test-drive and you got a speeding ticket?
Most of us would have the usual choices: pay the ticket or fight it in court. Unless you're the CEO of sports car manufacturer Lotus, that is. In January , year-old Jean-Marc Gales, who already had a storied history of moving violations, successfully argued his way out of a mph kph speeding ticket in a 70 mph kph zone, near Norwich, England.
Gales reportedly told the court that he was testing one of the company's newest cars and was given a pass. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. If, for example, someone in your family were to take your car out and destroy it, the issue of insurance pops back up. According to Policy Genius , your insurance company will still cover that accident.
However, it is worth noting that the person will pay to pay out of pocket for any damages that exceed your coverage limit. Regardless, now you know how safe you are when testing out your potential next purchase.
0コメント