Teach Your Teen To Do This If They Are In A Wreck

Seth Smiley here of the Smiley Law Firm. Today in the Parents of Teen Drivers Facebook Group, we are discussing what you need to teach your teen to do in the unlikely event that they are into an auto accident. It is a traumatic experience, and these simple steps make everything a little bit easier and make insurance claims more straightforward.

As an attorney, I deal with these issues every day, but most people, whether teens or adults, don’t know what to do when an accident happens. Most auto accidents are pretty minor, so what needs to happen is that your child, whether at fault or not, is to get out, assesses the situation, and make sure everything is okay. Call 9-1-1 and get the paramedics to come out and make sure everyone is being taken care of properly if someone is not okay.

The second thing on the 9-1-1 call is to make sure the police are informed and will attend the scene. A police report is vital for every single accident that anyone is involved in, as it is the only way to properly verify the facts of what happened on the date of the incident. After the police come out and you get a police report, a teen should call their parents to inform them that they were involved in an accident. The parents can call the insurance company and start to file a claim. From there, the teen should use their camera phone to take pictures and videos of the scene. It would be best if you took as many pictures of your car and the other vehicles involved.

You should get the other side’s information. Get a copy, or take a picture of the other people’s driving license and insurance information, and also share yours. There is no harm in exchanging information, but you should make sure that the police are getting this information. So, your teenager must know to follow these steps if an accident occurs. They need to document the incident, as many times we find that people don’t tell the truth once they leave the scene. They lie about being in an accident, or about who was at fault, and in many cases, an adult will take advantage of a teen and try to make the whole thing seem their responsibility.

So, if you document everything and take the proper steps, it helps make the insurance claims process more manageable if there is damage to the vehicle. Bodily and property damage are completely separate insurance claims, and I will do some videos discussing that in the future. If you have any questions or points to raise about what needs to happen after a teen gets into an auto accident, you can send me a direct message, or leave a comment under the video.

Thank you.