What are your legal obligations after a car accident?
By Joshua Sheaffe
Most people would think that the best thing to do is call a tow truck and then arrange your insurance company to deal with the mess. Although that sorts out the initial problem, what else MUST you do???
What you may find surprising
Surprising to most drivers is that they actually have a number of legal obligations set out under Queensland Road Rules (Regulation 92 of the Transport Operations – Road Use Management Regulation), including:
To stop immediately and help anyone who may be injured
To give their name and address, the name and address of the car’s owner (if different from their own) and the registration number of the car to:
any other driver involved in the accident
any person injured
the owner of any property damaged
the Queensland Police Service – within 24 hours of the accident – if someone is killed or injured in the accident or a motor vehicle has to be towed or carried away
3. Remove any dangerous debris that has fallen from their vehicle after an accident, including oil spills.
Compliance with the above steps will ensure you have satisfied your legal obligations.
What else do I need to consider?
Is that it? Possibly, but we think some more practical steps should also be considered, especially if the circumstances of the accident are disputed, or the other party is injured and taken to hospital and you are unable to give them sufficient information.
If possible, we recommend taking the further following steps at the scene of the accident:
- Obtain the names and addresses of any witnesses
- Make handwritten notes of any conversation with the other person involved in the accident and make a sketch showing how the accident happened (e.g. position of vehicles)
- Make a drawing of the accident scene (including distances, width of street and lane markings). Take photos of the scene and any damage to vehicles
- Obtain full particulars of the driver of the other vehicle, including their licence number and the name of their insurance company (both CTP and comprehensive insurance)
- Do not make admissions about liability for the accident. Admissions at the scene of the accident may invalidate an insurance policy
- Report the accident to any insurer as soon as possible. This is a standard term of insurance policies, and failure to do so may result in denial of cover. The accident should be reported even if you have no present intention to claim against the policy
- Seek immediate medical attention if injuries are sustained.
- Finally, don’t be afraid to take photos with that trusty phone camera in your hip pocket… In so many cases the pictures sketched by parties may look identical – however the position of the vehicles on the roadway will be critical to determining what actually happened. Photos of the positions of the vehicles on the road way from multiple angles, distances from traffic lights or intersections, skid marks on the roadway etc all assist to piece together the mechanism of an accident.
