Road Traffic Accidents - Car accident

Every day there are road accidents. Some are very serious causingterrible injuries or even death, many are trivial and only cause damageto your car and a lot more are somewhere in between. If you areinvolved in an accident you need to know what to do and what your legalrights and obligations are.

Road Accidents can involve drivers and passengers in cars, vans, busesand lorries as well as cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians. Atypical road accident that happens all the time is a rear-end shunt. Inthis type of accident, a driver stops at traffic lights or at a trafficisland or stops in the road to make a right turn. The driver behind isnot paying proper attention and he drives into the back of the firstcar. Operating the radio, satellite navigation equipment or mobilephones or just talking to passengers can distract the driver. Youshould not use a mobile phone when driving unless you use a hands freekit. You could be prosecuted. There are also still some people who getin a car after they have been drinking and they are a lot more likelyto cause an accident. Young and inexperienced drivers are also morelikely to cause accidents.

The typical injury caused in a rear end shunt is a whiplash injury.This causes a strain to the muscles in the neck and sometimes also theback and the shoulder. Usually no bones are broken and most people makea good recovery but it can take many months for the pain to go away.

If you are injured in a road accident the first thing you should do isthink about your safety and the safety of other people. If no oneappears to be seriously injured and you can move your vehicle, so thatit is not blocking the road, then move it. You should then get thedetails of the other driver. You need his name, address and his vehicleregistration number. If you can, you should also get the driversinsurance details, but getting the registration number is the mostimportant of all. Later, your solicitor will be able to track down theinsurance details and details of the driver from the registrationnumber, but always try to get as much information as you can.

If no one appears to be injured and the vehicles can be driven you donot need to call the police. If it is obvious that an ambulance needsto be called dial 999 and the police will come as well as an ambulance.If the other driver does not give you his details or drives awaywithout stopping you should call the police. Try to get the details ofany witnesses and if you have a phone with a camera take pictures ofthe vehicles.

If you are so injured that you need to go to hospital, the police willattend and they will probably get all the details of the other driverand any witnesses.

You must give your details to anyone else if they ask you. The policecan ask you to give a breath test to make sure that you were notdrinking.

Do not admit the accident was your fault even if you think it might be.It is better to get legal advice later when the full circumstances ofthe accident can be considered. Do not drive away from the scene of theaccident without leaving your details. If the police attend theaccident do not leave the accident scene until the police have saidthat you can leave.

Article Source: http://www.compensationsecrets.co.uk/