Road trips can be a great way to form life-long memories with your family. However, they can also be stressful events, especially if you find yourself getting into a car accident. One minute you’re driving along fine and the next you’re on the side of the road wondering what to do. If you want to prepare yourself in case you get into an accident while on a family road trip, here is what you need to know.
Get Your Family to Safety
The first thing to do immediately after a car accident is to get your family safe. This means checking in on everyone’s wellbeing and pulling over to a safe spot on the side of the road. If anyone is injured, you will want to call for assistance right away so that it can get there as soon as possible. If you were lucky enough to avoid any injuries, you’ll still want to be in a safe spot on the road to deal with the aftermath of the accident. For those situations where you can’t move your car out of the road, put on your hazard lights, put some cones around if you have them, and keep your family in the car.
Go Through Normal Car Accident Protocols
Once everyone is safe for the time being, you can go through the same steps you would with any other car accident. This means getting information from the other drivers (like name, insurance information and license plate number), then providing them with your information. You’ll also want to take a few pictures of the accident scene in case you need documentation. Finally, you may want to file a police report so that there is a record of the accident.
Find Tow and Repair Services
If your car was badly damaged, you’ll need to get it fixed before continuing the road trip. This means you may need to call a tow service and have your car brought to a nearby mechanic. Use your phone to find some services in the area or ask the police officer for some suggestions. You can also call your insurance agency or roadside assistance service and have them send one of their drivers. Ideally, you should look for services that will offer you an affordable rate, but in the middle of a family road trip, you may not have that luxury, so just choose the first provider you find.
Look for a Place to Stay
In many situations, you will need to stay overnight while your car gets fixed. This means you’ll need to find a place nearby to stay. Ask the mechanic you’re working with for a nearby recommendation or pull up your phone again. Find a place with enough rooms to fit your family, without worrying about finding the best accommodations, as hopefully, you’ll only be there for one night. With any luck, your car will be fixed the next day and you’ll be back on the road.
How to Best Prepare
There are a few things you can do before leaving on your trip that will help make car accidents less likely, and prepare you should you get into one anyway. The best thing to focus on is your driving habits. This means doing things like only driving while you are wide awake and avoiding distractions, like your phone or kids in the back seat, while you drive. Additionally, it’s useful to review accident statistics to understand common causes of crashes, which can further inform and improve your driving practices.
You should also pay extra attention to your surroundings. For example, avoid driving too closely to semi-trucks. According to The Barnes Firm, a group of San Francisco truck accident lawyers, “Even though semi-trucks, otherwise known as tractor-trailers, account for a relatively small percentage of traffic on U.S. roadways, they’re responsible for thousands of injuries and even deaths in accidents every year.” Paying just a little more attention when you’re driving could make a big difference to your family.
Besides that, it’s a good idea to always make sure your cell phone is charged. You never know when you’ll need it to look up the number of a tow truck or to find a hotel. There is a lot of technology that can make driving safer, but the most basic is still a charged phone.
Finally, pack supplies. Bring some basic first aid supplies, extra food and drinks, and things to fix your car. You don’t want to spend time getting towed to a mechanic if you can simply replace a flat tire yourself and drive there. Whenever you’re going to be in the car with your family for a while, it’s a good idea to have basic supplies with you, just in case the worst happens.
An accident while on a family road trip isn’t fun, but it doesn’t have to ruin the entire trip. By following the advice above you can get back on the road quickly and resume your trip without too much of an interruption.
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