Procedure For Car Accident Report: 8 Simple Steps

Getting into a car accident can be a harrowing experience for many. You’re probably in shock about what just happened. And you’re also reeling from the fact that you’ve crashed your car.

However, staying calm and rational about the situation is crucial. You must understand the procedure for a car accident report to reduce your liability of the situation and ensure the following steps are smooth-sailing.

This guide offers advice on what to do after getting involved in a vehicular accident to ensure the best possible outcome for the situation. Read on.

  On The Scene Of The Accident

1. Phone An Ambulance

It’s the responsibility of all individuals on the scene to examine if any injured parties are involved after the accident. You must contact emergency services at 995 as soon as you can.

Everything on the site must stay as is. No one should be moving bodies or other vehicles while waiting for the paramedics to arrive.

2. Call The Police, If Necessary

There are several instances where you might need to contact law enforcement after a car accident, especially if it involves:

• Pedestrian or cyclist
• Hit and runs
• Victims who need to be hospitalised
• Foreign vehicles
• Fatalities

File a police report as early as possible, within 24 hours of the incident. It must be as detailed as possible, including the particulars of the accident, names of all parties involved, location, etc.

The police report must be as comprehensive as possible, as it will serve as the official written record of the accident. Your car insurance company, for instance, will need the report when you claim insurance.

Lawyers will also use the police report if they need to defend any accident claims.

If unsure under which circumstances to report the accident to the police, a rule of thumb is to determine whether the victim/s had to take at least three days of medical leave.

You may report it to the Singapore Police Force by filling out the e-Traffic Accident Report.

The process for reporting traffic accidents will be slightly different for foreign nationals. Instead of using the abovementioned service, they will need to head to the nearest Neighbourhood Police Center or Police Post for further assistance.

Either way, ensure you have your identification documents ready, such as Singpass, scanned documents/sketches pertaining to the vehicular accident, and a valid email address.

3. Exchange Particulars With The Other Party

Not all cases of road traffic accidents will involve significant collisions. For minor car accidents wherein there are no seriously injured persons, all drivers must exchange details such as:

• Full name as it appears on official documents and identification cards
• NRIC (National Registration Identity Card) number or Foreign Identification Number
• Contact details (i.e. cellphone or landline)
• Address of current place of residence
• Details of the insurer/insurance company
• Valid driver’s licence

If there’s more than one party involved, including pedestrians, witnesses, or passengers, you must also exchange personal details with them.

4. Properly Collect Crash Evidence From The Accident Scene

You must collate as much evidence as you can about the accident. The information you’ve gathered will be crucial should disputes arise regarding the parties’ liabilities.

Crash evidence may include, but not be limited to the following:

• Photos of the accident scene
• Photos clearly showing the extent of the damage on the vehicle/any private or public property
• Skid marks on the road
• Licence plate numbers
• Date, time, and location of the vehicular accident
• Pertinent weather and road conditions
• Dashcam footage, if available

If you don’t have a camera on hand, try to secure a pen and paper. Draw a rough sketch of the accident, including details of the vehicles’ positions and relevant landmarks nearby.

5. Call A Car Towing Service

Suppose you cannot drive your vehicle out of harm’s way (particularly if the accident occurred on a busy highway or major thoroughfare). In that case, it’s best to contact a towing service to assist you.

Call your insurer for further assistance, as they can inform you of available tow trucks nearby. Make sure they’re authorised to tow your vehicle.

Avoid shoddy operators and car repair workshops. Any unnecessary modifications they perform on your crashed vehicle may complicate the process of getting your accident claim.

Call your insurer instead and heed their advice before arranging for a tow truck on site and sending your car in for repairs.

6. Try Not To Move All Vehicles Involved In The Crash

Make sure as you gather evidence that you won’t move any of the vehicles on the crash site.

As previously mentioned, if you want to avoid delaying traffic, especially in a wide-spanning area, collect your evidence as quickly as possible. This is so you can safely move the car without affecting the parties’ liabilities.

  Post-Car Accident

7. Call Your Insurance Company And Report The Accident

Aside from emergency services, you must also contact your car insurance company. You must be careful not to overlook this step, even if there are no visible signs of damage on your vehicle.

Report the accident within 24 hours or the next working day as early as possible. Failure to do so may invalidate your insurance claims, among many other concerns.

For instance, your insurer may delay or refuse your coverage, whether you’re attempting to claim from the other driver’s insurer or directly from the driver.

Failure to call your insurance company may also render your No Claim Discount invalid while renewing your car insurance policy. Or, they may completely refuse renewal.

8. Give The Other Party A Chance To Assess Your Vehicle For Damages

This only applies if you want to claim for property damage on your vehicle. You must also allow the other party to inspect your car for damages before repairs are made.

After receiving information about the location of the crash site, the other party’s insurers will perform a pre-repair inspection of the vehicle.

You may skip this step if the other party’s insurer has forfeited its right to inspection. Then, you may immediately begin repair work.

  Conclusion

A motor accident is no simple matter. Apart from the parties’ grievances, you must also deal with the paperwork that comes after the accident.

The car accident reporting procedure can confuse the average individual with many steps to take. Keep this guide as a handy reference in the future for when you need to make coverage claims on a severely or minorly damaged vehicle.

Contact Kee Yong Auto now for more information, or visit our Sing Ming car workshop. We offer value-for-money car repair packages in Singapore for Mercedes-Benz. Jaguar, Land Rover, BMW, Bentley, Porsche, and many other models.