What to do after a car accident involving other vehicle in Canada? What happens if you don't report a car accident and leaves the scene?

Question

As everyone of you knows the winter here in Canada can be quite bad and skiding on icy road is very common. Even though we may be driving properly and following all the safety rules of the roads, there are some stupid people who let their guards down and could potentially do harm to our car. When the weather gets really bad with thick snow on the ground, some people still continue at the speed of 60 km/hr the max limit, thinking that they have winter tires and they won't skid or lose control. They are so wrong and they end up with terrible accident. I have seen lots of accident happen on the street even on a clear day with no snow or rain and the roads are dry at the time. That is why i am afraid one day that those idiots drivers could cause an accident on my car and i want to be prepared as to what i should be doing when that happens. I understand that it can be stressful and scary especially if it is the first time an accident happened. It will truly help a lot of other people too if they had prior knowledge as to how to go about when accident happens. How do we contact our auto insurance company and what information is required to be obtained from the other driver of the vehicle involved in the accident.

Answer 1

In Canada, if you are involved in an accident with another vehicle, whether you are at fault or not, you should follow the following instruction to save you further anxiety or headache:

Do:

• Stay calm and make the other passenger in your car stay calm as well. 
• Turn on your Emergency Hazard Light by pressing the button as indicated in the below picture.
• 
• If you are injured yourself or anyone in your car is injured, you need to call 911 immediately and let the 911 operator know that someone is injured and that you would need both Ambulance and Police help.
• Observe the location of your car and make sure you are safe from being hit again by another car passing by. Your safety comes first before anything else.
• You should exchange information with the other drivers involved in the accident. Get information about them such as Names, Address, Phone Numbers, License details, License Plate and make, model of the other driver's car, their insurance company name and policy number.
• Take photographs of the damage done to your car and also take photographs of the road condition at the time of the accident. This will prove to be handy information when it comes to claims time by your Insurance Company.
• Never admit it is your own fault unless it is very obvious, it is your fault for causing the accident. Let the Insurance Company and the investigator figure out the details themselves. 
• If there happen to be any witness around who might have witnessed the accident, get their names and contact numbers as well. You may need these witness when it comes time to appeal in the court if at all it goes to that stage. Usually if one party admits fault and the other party is not fault, the insurance company of both the party will settle the scores among themselves without ever the need to put it through court.
• If you do have a cell phone, now is the time to dial your insurance company number and let them know an accident happened and what is the next step. Usually they would tell you to do those things as stated above, plus they will tell you if your insurance plan actually covers the cost of renting you temporary car while your car is in repair.
• Depending on your province where you live, you may need to have your car towed to a collision report centre. There you will need to file a collision report describing the accident as vividly as you can remember. Then you will get a police report as well. But if the police had already attended the accident scene, you would have already received the police report there.

Don't:

• Do not ever leave the scene of an accident. By doing so, you will automatically be assumed to be at fault even though you may not be at fault for the accident.
• If you see anyone in your car or the other car who may be injured and needed help, you do not move them yourself. Wait for ambulance help unless if that person is in immediate life or death situation such as a burning car, then you could attend to them.
• If you are asked to sign any documents from the other drivers involved, do not sign anything unless it is a police report given to you by the police. I heard of an incident wherein someone signed a paper admitting his fault in the accident and he will pay for the damage, but later he got sued legally by the other party who betrayed him.
• Never accept a direct payment from the other party for settlement. The reason being that the other person could turn around and report the accident to his insurance company who then will claim against your insurance company. The other person could betray you and trick you into not reporting to a collision centre meanwhile they themselves report to the collision centre. You usually have two business days to report any accident to a collision centre. If you are not at fault, your driving record will not be affected and you will not have to pay any deductible to your insurance company for repairs on your car.
• Do not get your car repaired without following directions from your car insurance company. Your Insurance company usually will refer you to some repair shop which have contact with them and their work will be guaranteed. If you go to your own preferred car repair shop without consulting your car insurance company, your claims might be become invalid.

Answer 2

Watch video on "What are the things you should do when you get into a car accident collision with another vehicle?":