A car accident: now what?

Posted on 12 December 2013

It’s important that you know how to react in an emergency – whether you have a car accident or witness one on the road. Dr Theunis Potgieter, head of the emergency centre at Mediclinic Stellenbosch, tells us what you should do.

I’ve just witnessed a car accident. What now?
Your first priority is to call an ambulance and the police. Next, make the area safe – it’s important to protect yourself and then those who’ve been injured. Where possible, ask someone to stand about 50m from the accident to alert oncoming traffic so motorists know they need to slow down. Make sure all vehicles on the scene have their hazard lights on. If anyone is still trapped in the car, stay at their side until the emergency services arrive. Cover the victims with a jacket (or blanket) until help arrives and if someone is bleeding, apply pressure to the wound but make sure you’re wearing gloves.

What you shouldn’t do:
•    Don’t move the victims unless they’re in immediate danger or need CPR.
•    Don’t remove a helmet if a victim is wearing one unless you need to perform CPR. Do open the visor and loosen the chinstrap.
•    Don’t touch any blood unless you’re wearing latex gloves.
•    Don’t go near the crashed car if it has damaged a power line – you could be putting yourself at risk.
•    Don’t let anyone on the scene smoke – there could be petrol on the road, which may cause further injury.

What should I do if I have an accident?
Many people don’t know what to do when they’re involved in an accident. Here’s what you should do:
•    Stop immediately.
•    Check whether or not anyone has been injured.
•    If there are injuries, don’t move the vehicles. Call the police and ER24 on 084 124 and give them your location very clearly and with as much detail as possible. Only move the vehicles when the traffic officer on scene says you can.
•    Give your name, address, car registration number and details of the vehicle’s owner to the other people involved, and get the same information from them. Don’t forget, you can use your smart phone to take photos and record details. Make sure you take down the date and time of the accident.
•    Don’t drink any alcohol before you report the accident at a police station.

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The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.