What to do in a road accident

Accidents and the Highway Code

It’s the sort of thing that you hope won’t happen to you but serious road accidents are a fact of life. 3,200 people are killed on the UK’s roads each year and many more are injured.

Many people are unsure what to do in an accident, despite the fact that the information is there in black and white in the Highway Code.

As the weather is cooling down and the road conditions are taking a turn for the worse here is a refresher to keep you safe on the roads.

What to do if you have an accident

The 8 points listed in the Highway Code are as follows:

• Turn on your hazard lights to warn approaching traffic of potential danger.
• Make sure other drivers switch off their engines and extinguish cigarettes for fire safety reasons.
• Call the emergency services yourself or get someone else to do so. Give full details of the location of the accident and any casualties. The operator will advise you on what to do before the services arrive.
• Make sure that any uninjured passengers move to safety, away from their own vehicle and passing traffic.
• Leave anyone with injuries where they are – you could do more harm than good – except if they are in danger from fire or explosion.
• Do not take off a motorcyclist’s helmet unless you have no option. Again you could cause serious injury.
• Give First Aid if needed.
• Wait until the emergency services arrive.

Common sense dictates that you should not put yourself in danger by helping. If you have to flag down traffic, do it from a pavement if possible. If you are driving and come across an accident, make sure that you park your car safely, turn off your engine and put on your hazard lights, using a hazard triangle as well if you have one.

First Aid

The Highway Code’s directive to give First Aid if needed may cause problems for many of us, but even a basic knowledge could save a life. Half of all deaths from road traffic accidents happen before the emergency services arrive, many caused by a blocked airway. If your airway is blocked, you can die in less than four minutes and, sadly, the average response time for the emergency services is twice that.

The Red Cross offers the following advice for basic first aid to be administered at the scene of an accident:

• Check for a response by talking to the casualty and/or tapping them gently.
• Check the casualty’s airway – put your hand on their forehead and tilt their head back gently, lifting their chin with two fingers.
• Check to see whether they are breathing by observing their chest and listening or feeling for breath on your face.
• Stop any bleeding by pressing on the wound with a clean cloth and raising it.
• If you suspect the person is in shock keep them warm and loosen any restrictive clothing.

Documentation

As regards documentation, if someone is injured in an accident, the driver must produce their insurance certificate at that time. If you do not have it on your person, you must attend the nominated police station within 24 hours to report the accident. You then have 7 days in which to produce your insurance documents.