There is nothing like being able to legally drive. But this does not mean there are no perils involved. You shall have other motorists on the road, increasing the chances of an accident. This means you should be prepared for anything to happen. Here are the things you can do.
Once the accident happens, you should not panic or shut down. The first thing to do would be to stop the car as soon as possible. No matter the extent of the accident, you need to stop the car. Driving away is an illegal move, and will make things worse. There is a need to keep the car in the same spot it stopped after the accident. If there are cars moving on the road, you need to go to the closest safe spot. You should then turn on the flashers if the car is still on the road. This way other motorists will know it is parked there.
You should now take some time to breathe. This is normally a confusing and scary time, with thoughts spinning out of control. There is a need to be calm before you do anything. You need not act in anger or fear as you are talking with the other motorists.
You should first ask if the other drivers are alright. Keep the conversation with them going. This helps them calm down too. If there are any injuries or anyone hurt, call in the emergency response teams. There is a need to keep the small talk going at this point. You need to also call the police. You will need a police report of the accident when filing for a claim with the insurance company. It is important that you do not blame the other motorists, or accept the blame yourself. There should only be the details of the accident you talk about during that time. They can assign the blame themselves. Make sure you record their names and badge numbers.
There is a need to collect photographic evidence of the scene of the accident. You can use these photos with the insurance company in the claim. You need to capture the details of the damage the accident did, and of the positions of all vehicles involved.
There is also a need to exchange info with the drivers in the accident. You can sort out the liability and insurance issues this way far much easier. You should be given their license plate number, name, insurance info, vehicle make and model, passengers’ names, location of the accident, and any eye witness contact info.
Get in touch with your insurance company, to file your claim, as soon as possible. Waiting for long shall present them with an excuse to deny your claim. This is when you share what you gathered, and tell them how you saw the accident. You can read more here on how to.