What Your Teen Should Know if They Have an Accident
You never want your teen to be in a passenger vehicle accident, but you also have to prepare them for the eventuality. Driver’s education will go over the basics with them, but it’s likely up to you to reinforce those lessons and make sure they really take. There’s a lot involved, but certain things are factors your teen has to know about if an accident happens.
Make Sure Everyone Is Okay
The first thing in an accident is making sure you are okay, so if your teen is driving, they need to check themselves out. Next, they need to verify that their passengers are also okay. Following that, they need to check on the passengers and drivers of any other involved vehicles, as well as pedestrians that might be there.
Don’t Admit Fault
Your teen should never admit fault if they were driving and involved in an accident. That can have serious legal and financial repercussions later. Even if they were a passenger, they should never suggest the driver of their vehicle was at fault either. Rather than pointing fingers at anyone, it’s better to make sure everyone is safe and wait for law enforcement to show up and start their report for the insurance companies.
Arrange for Towing Services
Your teen needs to be able to ascertain whether or not their vehicle is safe to drive away from the accident. In the case of a fender bender, that might be possible. However, anything involving more serious might require towing services to a repair facility, mechanic, or garage. Having a roadside assistance plan can be of help here.
Collect Information
Before anyone leaves the scene, other than wounded and injured who need critical medical care, your teen needs to collect information. At the most basic, they need to swap insurance and contact information with the driver of the other vehicle. They should also get information and statements from any witnesses that were present for the accident. Many auto insurance apps have easy ways to gather this information, take photos, and document the scene of the accident.
It Will Happen Sooner or Later
Most drivers wind up involved in a vehicle accident sooner or later. Unfortunately, many drivers are more likely to have one happen in their earliest driving years due to inexperience. Make sure your teenager knows what to do when their first accident happens, whether it’s their fault or not.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!