In the event of a traffic accident, do not repeat this mistake – you can be left without compensation and still at fault

After causing a traffic accident or becoming a victim, the most important thing is not to get lost and act consistently – assess the real situation and the existing damage. You will certainly have time to inspect damaged vehicles, so pay attention to road users first. Even if all road users seem healthy at first glance, ask if they are feeling well – emotional background and help to calm down are especially important in such stressful situations. If there are injured, provide first aid, call the medics and the police.

Do not forget to take care of the safety of traffic and road users: place an emergency stop sign on the side of the carriageway. In settlements – no closer than 25 m away, and in non-residential areas – no closer than 50 m away from the stopped vehicle. Turn on the emergency lights, put on a vest with reflectors.

Then assess the property damage caused during the traffic accident. Sometimes the participants in a traffic accident decide by mutual agreement to pull the vehicles off the roadway in order not to obstruct the traffic, but if you are not the culprit of the accident, be vigilant. Don’t forget – vehicles can only be removed from the scene of the accident after inspecting the scene of the accident, agreeing on the fault and recording the incident by filling out the traffic accident declaration.

Vehicles can be immediately removed from the scene of the accident only when there is a danger to other road users, but for your own safety it is advisable to capture the circumstances of the accident by photographing it from four different sides. The photos should show the general picture – damaged vehicles and the scene of the incident with road signs and markings, as well as the place of contact of the vehicles, license plates and damage caused.

It is also a good idea to take care of additional security by collecting the contacts of the witnesses of the traffic accident – you will be able to feel calmer if there are disagreements about the circumstances of the accident or the responsibility of the culprit after the vehicles are removed from the scene.

After taking care of the safety of the traffic and road participants, you can proceed to filling out the traffic accident declaration, but before that, assess whether there were any circumstances during the traffic accident that required calling the police.

It is possible to independently fill out a traffic accident declaration without the police when the traffic accident meets three conditions – there are no dead or injured persons, all the victims who have suffered property damage are present at the scene of the traffic accident, and the vehicle drivers agree on the circumstances of the traffic accident and the responsibility of the culprit.

Eligijus Oršauskas, Deputy Director of the Claims Administration Department of the LR Vehicle Insurers Office, reminds us of one more important nuance: do not forget to assess the behavior of the driver of another vehicle – if you suspect that he may be drunk or under the influence of narcotics, call the police and under no circumstances agree to forgery but any traffic accident data.

“Even in the case when the injured person negotiates directly with the perpetrator of the traffic accident regarding compensation, without calling the police, it is necessary to fill in the traffic accident declaration (EĮD), because it is an official document that substantiates the fact of the traffic accident. Because when the participants of the traffic accident agree among themselves that the culprit will compensate the damage, and the EĮD was not filled out, the culprit may later change his mind and not compensate the damage. In this case, the damage to the victim will be compensated by the Office of Vehicle Insurers of the Republic of Lithuania.

And one more thing – if the perpetrator pays money to the victim, they should confirm the fact of settlement in writing, that one compensated the damage and the other received the money. Because the injured person can repeatedly apply for compensation and claim that the perpetrator did not compensate him,” warns E. Oršauskas.

In the event of a traffic accident, the driver is often upset that he does not have the declaration of the traffic accident in the vehicle, or in a stressful situation he damaged the only copy after filling out the information incorrectly.

If you have a phone with you, you can choose a simpler and more convenient official electronic declaration of a traffic accident on the page dramivuivykiai.lt – immediately after the successful completion of the declaration, all data will be transferred to the insurance company of the culprit of the traffic accident specified in the declaration.

“The traffic accident can be declared on the platform by both the perpetrator and the victim, as it can be declared using one or two smart devices. When filling out the declaration with two devices, each driver will fill in his data, and the platform, having recognized the vehicles of the participants in the traffic accident, will link them into one common document”, says E. Oršauskas about the advantages of the electronic declaration of the traffic accident.

When filling out the electronic version of the traffic accident declaration, you will always be able to see which step you are in and which step the other driver is in. At any time, you will be able to view the information filled in by another driver, match the data.

“Filling in the electronic version of the traffic accident declaration by phone is also convenient due to the smaller amount of required data – after entering the vehicle’s registration number, the system will automatically fill in the necessary information about the vehicle’s insurance, so the data will be more reliable and you will waste less time.” Before signing the traffic accident declaration, the platform will provide all specified data of the participants in the traffic accident. Ask the other driver to show your identity document and make sure that the personal data is entered correctly”, says E. Oršauskas.