The Jefferson Chronicle asked Officer Valland what advice he would like to give to our Cavs. Here is what he had to share.
What should you do in the case of an accident?
If you are ever involved in an accident, there are a few things to know. First and foremost, DON’T PANIC! Accidents happen, and cars can be fixed.
No matter where the accident takes place, you need to notify police of all motor vehicle accidents. At times, an adult might try to take advantage of your youth and suggest that police or insurance are not necessary. They are wrong. Always contact the police.
Heads up, if the accident is in a private parking lot, no written report will be completed, just an exchange of information will be done. All accidents on public streets will have a written report done.
Call 911 to contact police to respond to the incident, and if medical care is needed for an injury, let the dispatcher know.
Stand by, and an officer should be at your location shortly. It may take a while depending on the time of day or if it’s a snowy day; there could be several accidents happening in the city. I recommend taking pictures of the vehicles as they are right after the accident to document for your own purposes. If you can move your vehicles out of the roadway, move them, so they are not blocking traffic. If there are injuries, you don’t need to move vehicles until you are instructed to do so by responding personnel.
While you are waiting, you can get your insurance and vehicle registration information ready to show to the officer. If you want to exchange the information with the other party prior to Police arriving, you can. You can do this by either writing it down or taking pictures of the insurance cards. I have had drivers text each other this information so that everyone has a phone number to contact in case questions come. If your parents own the car, please provide their name and contact phone number to the other driver.
If you don’t want to use your phone to share this information and want the officer to share it with the other party, wait and we will provide a form for you to share. The officer on scene will guide you if there is anything else that needs to be done. If your vehicle is not able to be driven away from the scene, the officer can help to get a tow truck there for you. The officer will talk to you about that and give you guidance while there. If you have questions about any part of an accident, ask the responding officer.
The officer will issue RedTags to each vehicle involved. These indicate that the accident has been reported to Law Enforcement as required by law.
One difficult part of an accident is that if a traffic violation on the city street or highway causes the accident, a citation may be issued to the offending driver.
After reporting the accident, you should notify insurance if there is going to be a claim. Parents can guide you on this.
If you need a copy of the accident report, one can be purchased at the Police Law Enforcement Center downtown.
Accidents do happen to everyone! If you are involved in one, everything will work out. If you leave the scene of an accident prior to reporting to police, you can be charged with a crime of Hit and Run. If there are injuries in the accident and you leave, it becomes more serious and it is Felony Hit and Run. Please stay until Police show up to investigate. If you leave, we will track you down eventually. Remember, most city streets and private parking lots have cameras recording everything these days!