"When we finished sorting and assessing our list, we were able to create a new, simpler, definitely shorter driver's accident scene guide."
y Dean B. Wisecarver
The vast majority of electric cooperatives insured in our program have forms or kits to aid their drivers on the scene at the time of an accident. That's great. What's not so great is that most of the forms/guides I see are organized in ways that make it cumbersome and inefficient for the driver to gather and record the best and most important information as early in the process as necessary.
Immediately after an accident, the driver is under stress and, eventually, he/she will have his/her attentions divided by others at the scene -- the other driver and/or the police. It is a difficult task under these conditions to gather and write down all the pertinent information. We at Sandean Services decided to see whether we could simplify this situation and improve the chances the driver will collect the most important information by designing a better driver's guide.
As a first step, Bruce Wright and I made a comprehensive list of the information a driver would need to provide to complete detailed accident reports for his/her company and/or regulatory agencies. To do this, we used a variety of existing forms - sample accident guides and state BMV reporting forms. We supplemented our list with items of information we knew a claims adjuster would need to begin handling the claim. (Both of us began our careers years ago as auto claims adjusters and, between us, we investigated thousands of vehicle accidents.) The list was long and intimidating, even to us. So, we created a set of logical criteria and used them to sort the list. The criteria included: How important is the information? How difficult would it be to get the information later if the driver fails to get it at the scene? If it will be difficult to get later, how fast will the information disappear at the scene?
As we applied the criteria to each item on our list, some interesting things came to light. For example, every driver's guide we had as samples started on the front cover with basic data like date, time, location of the accident, our driver's name and address, our vehicle information, and so forth. Bruce and I looked at each other and asked, “Why should we ask our drivers to write this information down at the scene? In the few hours until they get home and can fill out more detailed accident reports, they aren't going to forget their names and addresses, the vehicle they were driving, the date, the time, or even the exact location of the accident and the weather! In fact, most drivers can give these details completely accurately many months (and in most cases years) after the accident.” That realization helped us chop the driver's guide almost in half immediately.
We also noticed that every one of our sample guides had witness information way down near the end of the form or on a back page somewhere. From our combined experience as claims investigators, Bruce and I know full well that this information is often the most important information the driver can collect at the scene. Yet, if the driver followed the typical guide, most witnesses would have long since gone about their business and left before our driver got around to that section. We both agreed that identifying potential witnesses should be the very first information our driver collects and records. During the initial moments our driver is gathering witness information, the other driver isn't likely to just disappear, and if he/she does, the witnesses will become even more important. And, contrary to commonly held belief, the police rarely get the names of witnesses, and certainly not all of them or even the best ones. Frankly, most potential witnesses are gone before the police arrive.
When we finished sorting and assessing our list, we were able to create a new, simpler, definitely shorter driver's accident scene guide. Our guide, illustrated in sections along with this article, is organized with the idea that, if the driver follows the exact order of our guide and gets interrupted before he/she can complete it, everything that he/she has recorded to that point is more important (and/or more difficult to get later) than what he/she did not record.
To review and download our template, click HERE.
Compare our guide with whatever guide you use in your company. I'm sure you will notice items missing on our form that show on yours -- not because the missing items aren't important, but because they don't need to be recorded right at the scene. They can be recorded later, back at your office after the driver has returned. Wouldn't it be a shame if important, viable witnesses or even the other driver left the scene while our driver is busy writing down the date, the time, his/her name, his/her vehicle information? I think you get the point.
A word about witnesses: your driver should refrain from interviewing potential witnesses about what they did or did not see. Forget trying to qualify witnesses. While your driver is talking to one potential witness, perhaps only to find out the “witness” didn't see much at all, three others who did see something important are walking or driving away! Drivers should be instructed to just get names and phone numbers, or plate numbers of vehicles that stopped momentarily to see if everybody is okay. Just get enough identifying information so that later the investigator (adjuster) can track these people down and get formal statements of what they did or did not see.
The above paragraph leads me to an important final point. Your drivers should receive advance training on how to handle vehicle accident situations. Unfortunately, most never do. The guide or kit in their vehicle is just a reminder list of things to do and gather. It is NOT the actual training. The training should have taken place as soon as you designate a person to be a driver of your company's vehicles.