The shocking cause behind most road accidents
BY READERS DIGEST
1st Jan 2015 Insurance & Legal
Distracted drivers are responsible for the majority of road accidents in the UK—but what should you do if you're a victim? Here's some straightforward advice on what to do next.
The dangers of distracted driving
Satellite navigation, DAB radios, mobile phones, Bluetooth connections, climate controls… the list goes on. These are all things found in modern cars that can cause “driver distraction”. Driver distraction is any non-essential task that may reduce the quality of your driving, making you less observant, less careful—and increasing the likelihood of an accident.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) recently quoted a US study which revealed that driver distraction was responsible for 78% of road crashes.
If you're unfortunate enough to be injured in a road traffic accident by a distracted driver, you should first seek any medical attention required as soon as possible. However, there are also a number of things you should remember that will assist you in making a subsequent successful claim:
- Do not admit liability. A full evaluation of the circumstances may reveal that the accident could have been avoided if the third party had acted differently.
- Take down all of the driver’s details. As well as their name and contact number, ask them for their insurance details and make a note of their vehicle registration number.
- Gather evidence at the scene. Take pictures of the accident scene and damage to each of the vehicles. Make a note of the road and position of the vehicles before the accident and the time of the day.
- Take down witness information. If anyone witnessed the accident, ask them for their name, number, and a correspondence address.
When making a claim, be prepared to answer questions such as:
- Weather conditions on the day
- Speed of travel
- Visibility
- Details of what happened and where
- The third party's details
- Witness details (if any)
- Police attendance (if any)
It can pay to run some online checks via the car reg number. See useful data like theft status, outstanding finance and a car write off check. Plenty of UK car services available for this type of data such as CarVeto and AA HPI check.
What should you do next?
An experienced injury solicitor will offer you the best advice and help you claim compensation.
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