Cycling is fun, but what’s not fun at all is to get in an accident while cycling. In fact, it’s one of the worst things that can happen to you.
Thankfully, many of the accidents involving cyclists result in nothing more than scares. But even so, it’s still good to know what you have to do in case you are involved in an accident.
Let’s say you’re in Florida, do your have to contact a Florida bike accident lawyer? Do you have to take pictures of where the accident took place? Well, that’s exactly what we’re here to talk about.
From the very little details to the things that follow when you get home after the accident has occurred, we’re going to go over the different things that you have to do if you ever happen to be apart of a bike accident. So, keep on reading below.
The very first thing is to get yourself out of the road and into safety.
When you get in a cycling accident, there’s a pretty big chance that you will be in a state of shock for the first minute or so. But it’s vital to act immediately when you can.
That means that if you haven’t suffered any major injuries, you have to make sure you get out of harm’s way as soon as you can. Go to the side of the road and make sure you aren’t in the way of other cars or cyclists.
Once you are safe, it’s best to lie down on the ground. Do so for three to five minutes. After an accident, it’s normal to feel lightheaded, but you also want to make sure that your body hasn’t suffered any other internal damages that you aren’t yet aware of.
When you are sure that you weren’t hurt badly, you can try and sit down and eventually get up. If you can’t, it’s best to call an ambulance, so you can receive appropriate medical help.
Go and acquire the details of the other party involved.
If you’re able to stand and walk, then it’s important to get all the details of the other party involved. That way you’ll be sure you can find them if your health insurance or the police need to.
Open the Notes app on your phone and take note of the registration of their car, make and model as well. Also, write down their name, address of residence, and most importantly, their phone number. Also, make sure you get their insurance details as well.
Use your phone and take pictures of the accident scene.
Once you are sure that you have all of the details noted down, it’s time to get pictures of where the accident took place.
Make sure you get a full picture of the surroundings. That means to take photos of all four sides of the accident and the side and back of the vehicle as well. That way, you will get shots showing whether or not there was a long braking distance, and if the vehicle was speeding.
For extra precautionary measures, make sure to upload the photos to the cloud. That way even if something happens to your device, you will still have the photos available to you.
Think about hiring a lawyer to help, if there’s a need of course.
Consider getting yourself a lawyer. Not everyone will be friendly after an accident, and there’s a huge chance that they will try and blame you for the accident. In some instances, there may be the case of people running away.
So make sure you do your research and if you think you have to, get in touch with a professional who can tell you whether or not you should pursue legal actions.
Get witness information if possible.
And finally, if possible, you should get at least two or three witnesses. Collect their information the same way you collected the driver’s info. That way you’ll be sure to have people vouch for you if the situation takes a turn for the worse.
Our advice is to get people who directly witnessed what happened. Ideally, if there was CCTV in close proximity, it’s best to try and obtain any footage that clearly shows the accident.
Getting in an accident is never fun. But with that said, how you react the first ten minutes is crucial to how events in the near future will play out. Whether you or the other party decide to press charges or not, everything you do in the first couple of minutes is crucial.
