No one wishes to be involved in a car accident, but if it happens, you have to know some basic road accident advice. This is simply because of the fact that you will probably be involved in at least one accident throughout your lifetime. At least, that's what the numbers say. The following is a set of recommendations if you ever have to go through a car accident.

Anyway, the first thing you need to do is to immediately stop at the scene. Not doing this is called "hit and run", and it's a criminal offense. After you stop your vehicle, check yourself and the other passengers in your car (if any) for injuries. If everything is OK, get out of your vehicle and do the same thing with the other persons involved in the accident. If anyone has visible health problems, make sure that you call an ambulance, telling them the exact location of the accident.

Then, you must inform the police. If the accident is serious, you must do it right away. If it's minor, you must do it in a 24 hours interval. After doing this, you must start collecting data about the accident. In the heat of the moment, many drivers forget to do this crucial step, and later find themselves regretting it.

Take a piece of paper and a pen and start writing everything down. Details are very important, and you must record them while they are still fresh in your mind. Start with the other driver(s) involved in the accident. Take their details: name, address and phone number. If there are any witnesses present at the scene, do the same thing with them too. Also, don't forget to provide everyone whose details you take with your own.

Then, write down everything else about the accident. Note the weather conditions at the time of the event. Note the exact location of the event. Write down the time of the accident and the visibility (clear, foggy). Also, if the accident happened inside a town, take note of there is proper lighting (in the case that the accident happened at night, of course). Write down the models and the colors of the cars involved, as well as the damage they sustained.

If you are lucky enough to have a photo camera at you, it's better. If not, ask everybody present at the scene for one. Take pictures of every little detail you can think of. These pieces of evidence may prove to be very important later, in case you want to get road accident compensation.

You can also assist the police with all the data you managed to collect. Also, you can make yourself useful by taking care of the possible injured persons or by calming other people down, making sure that they don't make the situation even worse.

If the accident wasn't your fault, you can request compensation. There are basically two ways to do this. Getting compensation solely from your insurance company or hiring a road accident specialist who will professionally handle the claim for you. The former is recommendable for minor losses, while the latter is for more serious injuries and damage situations.

If you consider that the losses you suffered are minor and there isn't any point in contacting a lawyer, then the first thing you need to do when you get home is to call your insurance company. If, however, your losses are more severe, then you should contact an attorney who will guide you through the process of claiming compensation.

The attorney is more advisable in serious cases. That's because he will manage to get the biggest compensation possible in your case, while the insurance company will probably try to give you the minimum amount. Being represented by a lawyer also saves you time for recovery, because he will attend to almost all matters regarding the case. You will only have to go to periodical medical examinations, as an assessment of your injuries and their consequences in time is a must. That will help you get the compensation you deserve.

However, my hope is that you will never have to go through all these. But the big number of road accidents is a reality, and when or if it happens, you must know what to do. You must stay calm and not panic. The more you manage to do that and follow the simple car accident advice I've given you, the better.