Accidents are something every fleet should be prepared for. While good maintenance can go a long way to preventing a vehicle breaking down on the road; driver education, vehicle monitoring and telematics can help to prevent a driver causing an accident, accidents are still an unfortunate side effect of being on the road.
What to do in the case of an accident according to Avis Fleet Accident Management
It’s important to make sure you know who to call for accident assistance in an emergency and what you need to do should you need accident assistance.
Remain calm
In the event of an accident, drivers shouldn’t panic. If possible drivers should move their car out of the path of traffic and switch off their engine. They should mitigate further harm by putting up reflective signs.
Once this is done, insurance, police and an ambulance, if needed, should be called. If the accident isn’t serious it is still necessary to report the incident to police within 24 hours.
Take notes
To back-up any insurance claim and accurately fill out a police report, the driver should notice as many details as possible about the accident scene.
What a driver should note after an accident
This includes:
- Vehicle make
- Vehicle ode
- Registration number
- Damage to the other vehicle as well as to their own
- Photographs should be taken of the scene
- Contact details of the other parties involved in the accident should be jotted down. This should include full name, and surname as well as the identity number, home and cellphone number and email address
- Drivers can also take the name and number of police officials and paramedics on the scene
- Make a note of the road and suburb the accident occurred on.
If you’re a fleet driver, notify your company
Drivers must make sure they notify their companies. This is so that the accident management process can begin.
Once the company has been notified they can contact their fleet management team so that their experts can take the lead to minimise stress for all involved.
Avis Fleet is your accident assistance and accident management partner
Avis Fleet provides a simple and streamlined accident assistance process.
Avis Fleet will manage the claims process from start to finish with the result of keeping costs low by making sure the vehicle down-time is reduced and by selecting the best repair value for the situation.
Avis Fleet can also actively analyse the accident data you have captured for your fleet (along with driver data – behaviour etc.) to help identify future accident risks for your fleet.
Learn more about Avis Fleet Accident Management and our other solutions here.