For those involved in a motorcycle accident, knowing what to do immediately after the initial incident is crucial to their safety. Fortunately, you can read all about this subject in the post below.
DO GET TO SAFETY
If you are involved in a motorcycle accident, your priority must be getting to safety. This means getting out of the traffic flow, and away from your bike. Indeed, there are several crucial reasons you need to find a safe spot by the side of the road.
The first is that accidents tend to attract lots of attention from the other drivers passing by. Unfortunately, just as skiers that focus on trees tend to hit them, drivers that focus on accident scenes are more at risk of hitting the debris and causing more damage. This means if you are still standing by your bike, you could be at risk for even further injury!
DON’T MOVE YOUR BIKE
For bikers, their machines are very precious things. They can spend hours tinkering with the engines, and polishing the chassis every week. However, if you are involved in a motorcycle accident, you must not attempt to move your bike, no matter how much you love it.
There are two reasons for this. The first is that it’s very likely that your bike will be used as evidence should there be a criminal, civil, or insurance investigation. That means moving it will be tampering with evidence. Instead, to preserve the safety of other drivers and road users, you may wish to ask a bystander to set up a warning triangle if it’s safe to do so.
DO CONTACT FIRST RESPONDERS & LAW ENFORCEMENT
Once you have gotten to safety, your next task will be to contact the emergency services. In particular, the first responders, and law enforcement.
First responders will be needed because motorcycle accidents tend to involve more serious injuries. After all, vehicles offer less protection than cars. Remember, even if you feel OK, you could be in shock, so it’s always best to get checked out by medical professionals after an accident.
Contacting the police is vital because they will be able to attend the scene of the accident, and ensure that the safety of other road users is taken care of. Law enforcement should be able to help set up barricades and diversions to help control the flow of traffic, as well as begin to take statements for anyone involved.
DO NOT REMOVE YOUR HELMET OR SAFETY GEAR
While it may seem logical to remove your motorcycle helmet, or protective items of clothes after you have been in an accident, it’s always best to leave them on. This is because people that have been in such an accident often have serious head and neck injuries, masked by adrenaline and shock. Unfortunately, removing your helmet can make these worse so you must wait for the assistance of a medical professional before trying to take off your helmet or other protective gear.
DO COLLECT INFORMATION THE OTHER DRIVER’S DETAILS
It is also important to collect salient information about any other drivers involved in the accident while still at the scene. These should include the driver’s contact details, insurance details, and vehicle registration number. This is so you will be able to find them if you need to make an insurance claim.
At this point, it’s also a good idea to observe the way that the other driver is acting for signs of intoxication or narcotics. Indeed, such information could provide vital to any investigation, as well as criminal defense. You may even wish to inform an officer at the scene if you suspect alcohol or narcotics use by the other party involved, so they can run an official test.
However, you mustn’t confront any other drivers or passengers that are involved in the accident in an aggressive way. Instead, remember to keep calm, and allow law enforcement to manage the different parties involved.
DON’T FORGET TO COLLECT THE DETAILS OF THE WITNESSES
Last of all, as well as collecting information from any other drivers involved in an accident, you will also need to get details from bystanders and witnesses. This is because they can offer critical insights into what happened leading up to the accident, as well as provide an indication of who may have been at fault. The details you should collect include names, addresses, and contact phone numbers.
HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED IN A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT? CONTACT Wells Trumbull, TODAY!
Wells Trumbull offers expert, dedicated legal counsel for those that have been involved in motorcycle accidents. We can help you claim for any pain and suffering, lost wages, medical expenses, and mental anguish of being involved in such an accident.
Call our Washington office at 360-435-1663, or visit our website here to find out how an Everett motorcycle accident lawyer can help you.