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Drivers In Los Angeles – Be Prepared For The Worst

By January 20, 2010April 2nd, 2018Auto Accident Lawyer, Personal Injury

Right now, the congestion on the streets in Los Angeles is among the worst in the entire US. The US Census Bureau reports that only 7% of the commuters in the area make use of public transportation, meaning that the rest of the approximately 10 million residents head out in their cars each and every day.

With that many cars confined in such a limited space, it is no surprise that there are a high number of accidents each day. If you live in this area, the odds heavily favor you finding yourself involved in an accident sooner or later. And with the population expected to grow in the coming years, the situation will only get worse. The question is, will you be prepared?

All you need to do to be prepared is to keep a simple checklist, a pad and pen, a disposable camera and a flashlight in your glove compartment or trunk. And if you don’t regularly carry a cell phone, you may want to get an emergency phone to keep with the other stuff, just to be safe. Put everything together in a small bag and label it “accident kit,” so you can easily identify it when you need it.

Of course, it is important to understand what you need to do with all of this stuff before you get into an accident. Let’s go over everything in your kit and why you need it, so you’ll be ready when an accident happens.

The checklist is the most important part of the kit because it tells you everything you need to do following an accident, so you don’t have to try to remember. This is very important since the shock of an accident can often leave you not thinking straight, so you’ll want to be sure it is comprehensive.

The first thing you want to put on your checklist is a listing of all of the information you need to collect from everyone involved. This includes the standard information like how to contact them, their driver’s license number, and insurance information. It also includes other information like the license plate number, the number of people in the car and those passengers’ contact information as well.

You will also want to include an item reminding you to get the contact information from any witnesses who can corroborate your version of the accident. Collecting this information right away can save you a big headache in the event that someone involved changes their story after the fact. You should also be sure to include this information when you file a police report, as well as in the claim you file with your insurance.

Include on your checklist a reminder that along with gathering the contact information, you will want to draw a sketch of the scene in your pad. This doesn’t need to be a work of art, but having a sketch of the direction and location of cars involved can prove very helpful to your claim.

You will be using the disposable camera to take pictures of just about everything. You will definitely want photographs of everything from the damage incurred to your car, damage to all other cars involved, any personal injuries, damage to any property other than cars, and of course the scene itself. Put reminders for all of this into your checklist so you don’t miss anything at the scene.

Being prepared for an accident is really that simple, and it makes the aftermath much easier to handle. No one plans to get into an accident, and you never know when it could happen to you, so go put your accident kit together today. Hopefully you will never need to use it, but if you do, you’ll be happy to have it.

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