In the panic or pain of a crash, it can be hard to remember all you need to do.
Tempe Police Sgt. Ronald Elcock tells us, there is one thing to do right away.
"Safety is the most important to us, so what we want you to do is, if you're able to, move your car off the roadway," he says. "So that other cars aren't attracted to it. We don't want another accident to happen."
Many drivers, mistakenly, skip that, because they want to preserve the scene.
Elcock says that is just not needed, "I understand that a lot of people think that, but that's not the case, if it's any kind of normal accident, you can move the cars off the roadway. And the officers can figure out exactly what happened out there."
Then, call for help right away. 911 will bring local police on roads and DPS on freeways. You don't have to call police on private property unless there are certain circumstances.
"If there is serious physical injury or death, obviously, someone needs to call the police for that. Also, if there is significant damage to the private property, or if a crime was involved. Then, we need to be called for that," he tells me.
Don't forget to make sure the essentials are in your car now, as well. That's your driver's license, current proof of insurance, and registration.
