What to do..if you have a car accident

After an accident, feelings can run high - whether from anger, shock or pain - and its easy to forget what you need to do and when what details you must write down. Our simple guide will help you.

1 - BE PREPARED - keep an accident kit in your car. This can be as basic as a notepad, pen and a camera. You can buy first aid kit, with the basics like a tube of antiseptic cream and some band-aid. If you can then keep a blanket too. As soon as possible, try and write down what exactly happened. Make a sketch and try to note your exact location of the accident, note the road's name, the positions of the car involved, their colours and their models. Try and take photos and record the date time and weather conditions too. These mightseem like mundane details at the time but could go a long way when it comes to asking for insurance from your company.

2 - STOP! - Whether you are involved in a collision with a person, car, wall or animal, you must stop, switch off your engine and turn your hazard warning lights on. Check if anyone in your car or the one which your car hit is injured. If yes, then dial 100 or 102 for assistance, giving details of your location and the kind of injuries to the occupants of the cars. If you are on one of the expressways then use the roadside phone - these help the emergency services to pinpoint your location quickly. If the injuries are serious, the road is blocked or someone leaves the scene without exchanging details then you should call the police immediately.

3 - EXCHANGING DETAILS - If you're the driver, it's a legal requirement that you give your own name and address, the vehicle owners name and address(if different), your car's registration number and your insurance details to anyone who might reasonably ask for them. If you don't exchange details, or if anyone is injured, you must report this to the police within 24-hours. Get details from witnesses as quickly as possible, too. But whatever you do, do not admit liability (you could invalidate your insurance) or blame anyone else for the unfortunate incident.

4 - FIRST AID - even if your aren't a qualified first-aid provider, you can help once you've called the ambulance. Those occupants who have not been injured need to move away from the main road and move over to a safer place. But whatever you do, do not move people who have been injured out of the vehicles or seem to be suffering from great pain - you could aggravate their injuries even further. And do not remove helmets of motorcyclists either. Try to reassure them but do not offer them food or water. Keep the casualities warm if you can do so without moving them around too much.

5 - JUST A SMALL DENT? - If nobody is hurt, and the cars can be driven away safely, then there is absolutely no need to call the police or start an argument about how it could have been avoided with the other driver. However, it's a good idea to exchange details with the driver of the car, you might need these when you ask your insurance for payments. It might be tempting to just drive off if you've bumped a stationary car but how about restoring someone's faith in human nature and leave a note with your details on their windscreen and a 'sorry'