What Should You Do After a Vehicular Accident While Traveling?

Occasionally, even the best travel plans are interrupted by accidents and chaos. There’s a chance that in your travels, you’ll be involved in a vehicular accident. What steps should you take to protect yourself physically and financially in this type of situation? And what recourse do you have if you’re seriously hurt in such an accident?

Try to Prevent an Accident

Obviously, your first line of defense should be trying to prevent an accident in the first place. This can be trickier than it seems in a foreign nation or an unfamiliar state, because some of the conditions may be unfamiliar to you.

•       Understand the laws. Your first priority is to understand the laws, rules, and regulations wherever you’re traveling. Laws that apply to driving vary by state, and if you travel to a foreign nation, they may have very different rules and expectations for drivers. You will not be able to drive safely unless you understand and follow these rules. On top of that, failure to observe these rules could result in legal consequences that complicate your situation even further.
•       Spend some time practicing. Even if the terrain feels familiar to you, there may be subtle differences that throw off your driving ability. Driving on a different side of the road, driving in unfamiliar weather conditions, and navigating alien structures like traffic circles can all throw you off. Accordingly, you should spend some time practicing your driving in every new area you visit.
•       Exercise additional caution. No matter what, you should try exercising additional caution. Driving a bit slower, adding a bit more distance between you and the car in front of you, and staying acutely aware of your surroundings at all times can greatly reduce the risk of an accident.

After an Accident

Unfortunately, even when following all of these measures, your risk of an accident will never be zero. If you do find yourself in a car accident while traveling, these are the most important things to do:

•       Remain calm. It’s hard to remain calm after a devastating accident, but it’s imperative if you want to make better decisions for yourself in the aftermath. Take a deep breath, remain calm, and focus on your own health and safety.
•       Get medical attention. If you or someone else in the accident was seriously hurt, your first priority needs to be getting medical attention. Keep in mind that the number for emergency services may be different in your destination than it is in your home territory. As a traveler, you may or may not be covered by your existing health insurance, and you may be concerned about the quality of medical attention you receive in this area. Even so, a medical emergency is a medical emergency, and you need to do whatever you can to put yourself in a better position.
•       Contact the police. Consider contacting the authorities in your area. Depending on the location and circumstances, this may be a valuable opportunity to file a police report. Verify that all the details are correct to the best of your knowledge before signing, and if you don’t speak the language, don’t sign the documents. Insist on getting a translator if you encounter any issues with the police.
•       Contact your insurance company. It’s typically a good idea to contact your insurance company as well. Depending on whether you need medical insurance, it may make sense to contact both your auto insurance carrier and your health insurance carrier. They may have advice on what to do next.
•       Gather evidence. It’s prudent to gather as much evidence and information as possible after an accident, even if you’ve already filled out and signed a police report. Assuming you have the physical capacity to do so, take photos and videos of the scene of the accident and consider getting contact information from any eyewitnesses.
•       Avoid signing documents prematurely. After the accident, you may be presented with various documents to sign, including police reports, medical authorizations, and more. If you’re not familiar with these documents, avoid signing them intuitively. Make sure you fully understand what you’re signing before you proceed.
•       Talk to a lawyer. Finally, make sure to talk to a lawyer, preferably in your home area (even if they don’t have authority in your destination). They will likely have advice for what to do next and who to talk to. Eventually, you may find yourself in need of foreign legal support, but this is a good first step.

Unfortunately, this advice must remain somewhat generic, as the best steps to follow will depend on where you’re from, where you traveled to, and the circumstances of the accident. Still, this should give you a solid base to start navigating the aftermath of this collision.