Statistically, motorcycle accidents are 27% more fatal than car accidents. During a motorcycle accident, your entire body is exposed to the road, stationary objects in your surroundings, and the vehicle that collides with you and your motorcycle. This often leads to serious internal and external injuries due to the sheer amount of physical force you experience. People never expect and anticipate serious accidents that may cause life-threatening injuries. Therefore, you must know beforehand what you’ll need to do when you actually get involved in one.
1. Get to safety first
Once you get in an accident, the first thing you need to do right away is to quickly assess your current situation. Are you feeling ok? Did you sustain any injuries? Are there other people around you who might be hurt? Can you move away from the accident site by yourself or do you need assistance? You first need to go to the side of the road or onto the footpath so that you are no longer obstructing the traffic. If you do not move from the site of the accident, there is a chance some high-speed vehicle might collide with your motorcycle or hit you. After you are at a safe distance from the road, you need to check who else is involved in the accident. These may include the people who collided with you as well as the bystanders who got hit. If you are feeling ok and can walk, you must help these people get to safety.
2. Do not remove your protective gear
Right after the accident, you might be in a state of deep shock. Initially, the adrenaline rush might result in you feel no pain, but once the adrenaline subsides, the pain will come. If you are wearing protective gear such as a helmet or knee pads, you should not remove your protective gear until medical help arrives. This can mean life and death since parts of your protective equipment could have splintered during the crash and now be lodged inside your body.
Removing them, or even moving them for that matter might prove fatal without the right medical supervision of a medical professional and the right equipment. Another important reason why you should keep your gear on is the risk of getting hit by another vehicle before you had the chance to move to the side of the road. You may also fall and hurt yourself when you try to move away from the site of the accident.
3. Call 911
After getting yourself safely to the roadside and out of harm’s way, you should seek help and immediately call 911 to report your accident and request medical assistance. Emergency services, the police, and paramedics will immediately reach the site of the accident and take you to the nearest hospital.
4. Seek medical attention
If you are lucky and somehow did not suffer from any visible injury, you still need to immediately visit your doctor. Sometimes there are serious internal injuries that are not initially visible from the outside. Such internal injury may appear in the form of bruising or a mass of clotted blood under your skin after some days or weeks. It is better to let your doctor examine you at the earliest possible convenience to avoid any further complications. We recommend a complete medical check-up right after an accident rather than regretting your inaction later.
5. Gather necessary evidence
Right after the accident, you’ll need to gather all the evidence as soon as you are in a position to do so. This is important as you’ll be needing this information for the police report and insurance purposes. Evidence includes the details of your motorcycle, your picture, a copy of the police report. You also need to obtain the other driver’s vehicle registration number, insurance information, and contact information.
6. Speak with your Lawyer and Insurance Company
After the accident, you must talk to a lawyer. Hiring a lawyer can make a difference in your insurance settlement. Usually, insurance companies pay a very little amount.
These steps are not just for motorcycle accidents. If you involved in a car or truck accident, it is better to get an injury lawyer to seek advice and process legal matters. Having a lawyer present during the insurance claims settlement ensures that no one takes advantage of you and pays you less than what you are due. If you are not at fault, then your lawyer will make sure nobody wrongly places the burden of responsibility on you.
We hope this article was helpful for you in understanding what to do right after a motorcycle accident. It is better not to put yourself in a position where you need this advice. Drive safely and avoid accidents.
