What should you do when you are involved in a motor accident? Imagine you are calmly driving your car down the road and suddenly you find yourself involved in a three-car pileup.
We recently had an enquiry from someone who wanted to know how fault is determined in a multi-vehicle motor accident. The first car suddenly stopped, and the second car immediately slammed on the brakes but made a slight impact with the first car. However, moments after, a third car failed to brake in time and significantly collided with the second car, which then caused the second car to collide again into the first car.
Many factors will come into play when determining who is at fault. It is very important to remain calm and make a note of all the relevant factors to truly determine who is at fault.
Taking this 3-car-collision example, if you were ever in such an accident, there are many things you should note down and be aware of following the accident, including:
The Incident
- What was the date, time and place of the accident?
- Where did the accident occur?
- Was it a freeway or suburban street?
- What directions were the cars going?
- Was it dark? Were headlights turned on?
The Vehicles
- The vehicle registration number
- The driver license details
- Take photos of the damage
- Did airbags in any cars deploy?
- Who were wearing seatbelts, and what type? If a motorbike was involved, did they wear a helmet?
The People
- Make sure to check if the people involved in the accident is injured and call emergency services if required
- Obtain the contact details of witnesses
- Obtain the witnesses’ version of events if available
- Check if anyone involved in the incident and those who witness the incidents to see whether they have any dashcam footage of the incident
- Note down exactly what was said by each party
The Surroundings
- The conditions of the roads at the time, was the road wet?
- Level of traffic, whether it school zone
- brightness/darkness level, was the road well lit?
- Weather at the time – was it bright and sunny or raining?
- Any obstructions to driver views
- Bumps or potholes in the road, sloping road, hills, location of traffic signs, and stop signs.
- Did an external source like wildlife running across the road caused the accident?
- Whether the police were called. If police attended the scene, did they charge anyone or write up a police report? Who gave statements to the police?
The more details you can remember and note down about the accident, the clearer our lawyers can assess who is most likely to be at fault for the crash. In the end, each accident is different and as such who will be liable for the crash will be difficult to say without a comprehensive understanding of the events surrounding the accident.
Feel free to speak to our lawyers at any of our Sydney offices located at Hurstville, Crows Nest and Waterloo. You can also send an online enquiry and our lawyers will contact you as soon as possible.
Disclaimer: The information above is intended to be general information only and it should not be relied upon it as legal advice. If you seek professional advice please feel free to contact the team at Lincoln Legal or make an enquiry.