So you’ve just rear-ended someone. Unless you drive off and ignore your problems, you need to know what to do. Firstly: I want to say congratulations for contributing to the stereotype of teenagers as bad drivers. Thanks for that. [Disclaimer: results may vary based on situation and insurance policy. Information is from mulitple insurance websites.]
1. The first thing you should do is look for the license plate, as well as the make and model of the other car. It’s best to look for these things first because sometimes people could disregard the situation and drive off.
2. Next, put on your hazards and find a safe place to stop your car. Don’t stop around a blind corner, don’t stop on the freeway, don’t stop in the middle of an intersection. This may seem obvious, but there’s a reason many adults assume teens are preternaturally stupid.
3. Once you’ve pulled over, call 911. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a scratch on your front bumper, or if your car resembles an accordion; call 911. You need the police report to be able to file an insurance claim. If you don’t call 911 your parents may have to pay out of pocket for the fancy sensors in the bumper of the brand new minivan you bumped into. Believe me, those aren’t cheap.
4. Though you’ve probably done this already, at this point you want to make sure everyone involved isn’t injured. Take a minute to breathe and evaluate if you and everyone else in the car is alright. If someone is injured, make sure to note that. If you don’t report any injuries then you can’t extort money for injury compensation later.
5. Talk to the other driver and exchange insurance information, driver’s license info, and anything else you think might be important such as name, address, and phone or email. You need to make sure that they have your information as well, so that you can receive passive aggressive emails insinuating that all accidents involving teenagers are your fault and that you should never get behind the wheel of a car ever again.
6. When the police show up, tell them exactly and truthfully what happened. I know in the five minutes that it took for the police to get there, teenage instinct will have kicked in and you will have concocted a story about how none of this was really your fault, but the police often won’t appreciate the creative storytelling.
7. Lastly, file an insurance claim. By this I mean give all the information to your parents and let them deal with the consequences of your actions. Soon you’ll have to fend for yourself.You don’t have much time left to exploit your parents, so take advantage while you can.