What Information Should You Get After a Car Accident?

Once immediate safety concerns have been addressed, collecting accurate information about the accident can help preserve important details about what happened.

Some information can become difficult to obtain after everyone leaves the scene. Witnesses may leave, vehicles may be repaired, and physical evidence on the roadway can disappear.

You do not need to investigate the entire accident yourself. The goal at the scene is simply to safely preserve useful information when possible.

Get the Other Driver's Information

One of the most important steps is identifying the other driver or drivers involved.

When it is safe to do so, information to collect may include:

• Driver's full name
• Contact information
• Driver's license information
• Insurance company
• Insurance policy information
• Vehicle make and model
• License plate number

If possible, make sure the information is recorded accurately.

A photograph of an insurance card or driver's license may help avoid mistakes when writing down names, numbers, or other details, when the other driver permits it.

Avoid photographing or collecting information that has nothing to do with the accident.

Get Insurance Information

Insurance information can become important after a collision because the drivers involved may need to report the accident to their insurers.

Try to obtain the name of the other driver's insurance company and available policy information.

Do not assume that simply having an insurance card means every issue involving coverage has been settled.

Insurance policies can differ, and questions can later arise about whether a policy was active, which vehicle was covered, who was driving, or what types of coverage apply.

At the accident scene, the immediate goal is simply to accurately preserve the information that is available.

Record Information About the Vehicles

The vehicles themselves can provide important identifying information.

Try to record or photograph:

• License plate numbers
• Vehicle make
• Vehicle model
• Vehicle color
• Visible damage
• Where the damage is located

Photographs can be especially useful because they preserve the appearance of the vehicles before repairs begin.

The location of damage may later be compared with photographs, witness accounts, roadway evidence, and other information when investigators are trying to understand the collision.

Vehicle damage alone, however, does not always explain exactly how an accident happened.

What If a Commercial Truck Is Involved?

If the accident involves an 18-wheeler or another commercial vehicle, there may be additional identifying information worth preserving.

When it can be done safely, useful information may include:

• Trucking company's name
• Tractor number
• Trailer number
• License plate information
• Visible identifying numbers
• Company markings
• Information displayed on the truck or trailer

Commercial vehicles may involve more than one business. The company that owns a tractor may not necessarily be the same business associated with every other part of the shipment.

Photographs of the truck's markings can help investigators accurately identify the vehicle and companies involved.

However, a company's name appearing on a truck does not automatically establish that company's legal responsibility for an accident.

Get Witness Contact Information

Independent witnesses can sometimes provide valuable information about what happened.

A witness may have seen events that one or both drivers missed. For example, someone may have seen a traffic signal, a lane change, a vehicle's movement, or the moments immediately before impact.

If a witness is willing to provide information, try to obtain the person's:

• Name
• Phone number
• Email address, if available

You do not need to conduct a lengthy roadside interview.

Getting reliable contact information can allow the witness to be contacted later if additional information is needed.

This can be especially important because witnesses may leave before law enforcement arrives.

Take Pictures of the Accident Scene

Photos can preserve much more than vehicle damage.

If conditions are safe, consider photographing the overall scene as well.

Potentially useful photographs may show:

• Vehicle positions
• Damage to each vehicle
• Roadway layout
• Traffic signals
• Stop signs
• Lane markings
• Debris
• Skid or tire marks
• Nearby construction
• Road conditions
• Weather conditions
• Nearby businesses or buildings

Take both close-up and wider photographs when possible.

A close-up may clearly show damage, while a wider image can provide context about where the vehicles, signs, and lanes were located.

Never enter moving traffic or another unsafe area just to take a photograph.

Record the Location, Date, and Time

Basic details can be surprisingly easy to forget later.

Record the date and approximate time of the collision as well as the location.

Useful location information might include:

• Street names
• Nearby intersections
• Highway numbers
• Direction of travel
• Nearby businesses or landmarks

Knowing the exact area can also help investigators look for additional evidence later.

For example, nearby businesses, homes, traffic systems, or other locations could potentially have cameras that captured part of the accident.

Whether footage exists depends on the circumstances.

Get Law Enforcement Information

If police respond to the collision, try to preserve information that can help identify the investigation or accident report later.

That could include the responding law enforcement agency, officer information when available, and any report or incident number provided.

The completed crash report may not necessarily be available immediately at the scene.

A crash report can later provide useful information about the accident, but it should not automatically be treated as the only evidence showing what happened.

Other evidence may provide additional information.

Write Down What You Remember

Your own memory is another source of information.

When you have a safe opportunity, write down what you remember about the accident while the events are still relatively fresh.

Include details such as your direction of travel, lane, traffic conditions, what you saw before the collision, and what happened immediately afterward.

Do not guess about details you do not remember.

If you did not see something, it is better to say that than to fill in the missing information later.

Keep Records You Receive After the Accident

Information collection does not end when you leave the scene.

A collision may generate additional documents over the following days or weeks.

Keep accident-related materials together, including things such as:

• Crash-report information
• Insurance correspondence
• Towing documents
• Repair estimates
• Vehicle photographs
• Rental-car documents
• Medical bills or records related to the accident
• Receipts for accident-related expenses
• Work records if the collision affects your ability to work

Organizing these documents can make it easier to understand what happened and document the effects of the accident.

Why Does It Matter After an Accident?

Evidence can change quickly after a collision.

Cars may be repaired or sold. Roadway debris gets cleared. Witnesses become harder to locate. Video may not remain available forever.

Information collected shortly after the accident can therefore become an important starting point for a later investigation.

At Jacqueline A. Scott & Associates, when we investigate a Louisiana car accident, we can use the information collected at the scene to identify additional evidence and develop a clearer picture of the collision.

We may review driver and insurance information, photographs, witness contacts, crash reports, vehicle damage, available video, and other records.

If you were unable to collect everything at the scene, that does not necessarily mean the accident cannot be investigated. We can look at what information is available and determine whether other sources of evidence may exist.

Frequently Asked Questions About Information to Get After a Car Accident

Related: Louisiana car accident lawyer, Louisiana’s two-year filing deadline, Louisiana’s 51% fault rule.

This article is general information about Louisiana law and is not legal advice. Laws and deadlines can change, and every case depends on its own facts. Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. Reading this page or contacting the firm does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship.