Even a car accident as minor as a fender-bender can leave you rattled and confused about what to do next.
First steps are instinctive: Check yourself and your passengers for any injuries, and call 911 if necessary. As to next steps, here are four clever mobile apps that can help you in the aftermath of an accident:
Help I Crashed My Car
You can program pertinent information about yourself and your vehicle and plug in your emergency contacts so that you only have to perform a few taps to send out information after an accident. This smartphone app is also smart enough to provide an accident report. If your GPS system is enabled, it will record the location of the accident and advise you of the nearest police station, mechanic and rental car agency.
SOSmart
Also for Androids, SOSmart will detect a crash using your GPS system and the accelerometer on your phone. Once your emergency contacts have been programmed, the system will send post-accident alerts. SOSmart can begin its monitoring function automatically when you start to drive, or you can turn it on at any time manually.
iWrecked
Here is an app for both iPhone and Android. You can program your emergency contacts in and the app will call them if an accident occurs. It will also take photos of the crash scene and provide you with an accident log.
CamOnRoad
Another app for iPhone and Android, CamOnRoad can function as both a GPS navigator and dashboard camera. The high-quality video feature can provide evidence concerning the cause of the crash while the GPS function will identify the site of the accident. An emergency calling capability is also available.
Sharing information
Once you check yourself for injuries, assess the damage to your vehicle and exchange insurance information with the other driver, you can use an app like these to assist with accident details. The information will be helpful to a personal injury attorney, who will go to work to negotiate the best possible insurance settlement on your behalf. Human recollection of an accident may be faulty, but the information provided by a smart app can be precise.