When renting a car, clients usually inquire about the technical characteristics of the car and already imagine their vacation or quickly solved problems with transporting things. In frequent cases of car rental 19 years old Canada and other countries you can forget about the safety precautions and legal aspects of emergency situations. Even an experienced driver in an atypical situation can make mistakes, fail to react in time, or be involved in an accident due to the fault of another driver. However, in the case of an accident with your car, we typically have a clear algorithm of actions. However, not everyone knows what to do when the accident happened with a rental car.

Procedure in case of an accident

 An accident means any incident on the road that involves damage to the vehicle. In other words, if the rented vehicle hit a pole or a curb, or another vehicle crashed into the rental car – you will have to pay attention to this situation, even if the damage is very minor. Procedure of actions in case of an accident is the same for the majority of rental stations, and the lease of a VIP car or lease of a budget car follows the same rules in 99% of cases. There are differences only in the cost of the car rental and amount of the pledge. Procedure of actions in case of an accident: 

• Familiarize yourself with the rental agreement. This procedure should be done before the accident, even before signing the contract itself. Carefully read the agreement, which includes a “Procedure in the event of an accident”. If you comply with all clauses of the agreement, there will be no claims and no additional penalties.
• Calm down. This is not just a psychological recommendation, it is a prerequisite, because in a state of affect, a person may violate a number of other rules, which will entail additional responsibility.
• Leave the vehicle, assess the scene of the accident. This is necessary to make sure that the damaged car is not a danger to others. There are no signs of fire, no oil or gasoline leaks. Be sure to turn off the engine if the car is still running.
• Place emergency stop signs as required by the laws of the country you are in. Follow all traffic inspection rules and mark the scene of the accident so that other road users do not crash into parked vehicles.
• Never leave the scene of an accident. Not only will it not solve your problem, it may add new ones. Fleeing the scene of an accident gives the insurance company grounds to refuse to reimburse you.
• Include an emergency stop sign and mark the place of the accident with road triangles.
• Call the police immediately and wait for them to arrive.
• Call the car rental company and honestly tell them what the situation was. It should be understood that the rental service is not your enemy, but they need to know all the nuances of the accident in order to contact the insurance company for reimbursement of losses.
• Take an alcohol test, you will be offered to do it by the police with the help of a drager.
• Get all the necessary documents from the police and provide them to the rental car service.
• Carngo is sure to provide an operator from the company, who will inform you about further actions.

The registration of the accident 

1.     This point should be approached with particular care and attention, because it depends on as it respects your interests and rights after the accident. After the call of traffic police officers to the place of the accident, it will take at least 15 minutes, depending on the severity of the accident. The specified time is based on the average practice of arrival of the crew to the place of the accident, if there was no significant damage to property or life and health of the participants of the accident.
2.     Before the crew arrives, identify the person responsible for the accident to save time. Carngo always ask for a report that details the collision process, causes of the accident, and identifies the at-fault party. Sign and complete copies in duplicate. If one of the participants refuses to sign such a report, take pictures of the accident and try to find witnesses who may have seen the collision process. Perhaps other drivers filmed the process of collision on the DVR.

3.     After the traffic police officers arrive, the first thing to do is to interview both participants in the accident and witnesses, if any. Then the protocols will be drawn up, the scheme of the accident will be sketched, the written evidences of both participants of the accident will be fixed. The inspector will record in detail all the damages, we recommend you carefully check the damage with those that were prescribed at the conclusion of the contract to rent a car. Also read your testimony carefully, it is important to understand how accurately it is recorded.

What you should not forget about renting vehicles

And lastly, there is something to be said about insurance. All cars in rental services are insured with a deductible. Excess is a deposit that is blocked on your account when you rent a car, and if the car is damaged, the amount is reimbursed from this deposit. However, you can reduce the deductible amount if you pay extra insurance. Thus, in case of a road accident, your expenses will be minimal. So when you buy extra insurance, you are also buying your peace of mind.

The following advice is quite trivial, but some people forget about it. Do not drive if you are not feeling well, or are taking strong medications that are contraindicated for driving. Your head should always be clear in order to quickly assess the situation on the road.

And speaking of car rental, 19 years is worth mentioning last, but not least – do not get behind the wheel while intoxicated. Even if you had just a glass of beer with a friend, had a couple of sips of wine – all this can have a detrimental effect on your trip. Alcohol and drugs dull your attention and make it impossible to drive safely.