Steps to Take After an Accident For Truck Drivers

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When you drive a truck for a living, you face a considerable amount of risk. The size of the vehicle and the fact that you spend so many hours on the road means that the chances of a collision are significantly higher than the average road user. Below are the key steps to take following an accident.

Exchange insurance information

It’s important to remember that it’s not up to either driver to establish who was at fault for a collision at the scene of the accident. This is up to the insurance providers to determine based on the evidence presented. The first thing to do is establish everybody involved is OK and uninjured, and after this exchange relevant information including insurance details.

Don’t admit guilt

It’s very important that you do not admit guilt for an accident. Even by saying sorry, this could be perceived as being an admission of guilt. You should of course remain calm and professional – after all you are still representing your company and becoming aggressive and argumentative will only escalate a situation and could potentially cost you your job.

Look for witnesses

If the accident takes place in a built up area and there are witnesses to it, you should ask these people if they’re prepared to act as witnesses in court if it comes to that. Eye witnesses can be extremely useful for helping insurance providers decide who was at fault for an accident.

Take as many photos as possible

With smartphones that have cameras now the norm, there’s no excuse for not taking as many pictures as possible at the scene of an accident you’re involved in. Even if you have a dashcam that captured the accident, you should still take as many photos as possible.

You should take photos of all sides of any vehicles involved. You want to be able to give your insurance provider as much evidence as possible to support your claim.

Inform your employer

Once you’ve exchanged insurance information and gathered as much information as you can, you should inform your employer. They’ll likely want to know as many details as you can give them, including the amount of damage, who was to blame and whether the police were involved. If your insurance is taken care of by your employer then you should of course inform them first so they can take care of it.