Improving Your Automobile

3 Reasons You Never Drive Your Vehicle After a Collision

22 September 2014

Addison Morris

If you get in an accident and your vehicle has damage, have it towed instead of driving it away. If you think you are going to have a personal injury case, if you aren't sure if the vehicle has damage that could make it hard to drive, or if you are going to claim the damages on insurance, you don't want to get behind the wheel.

Here are three reasons why it's best for you to call a towing company to have them come and safely haul your vehicle away.

Driving Could Increase Damage

Attempting to drive the vehicle could cause more mechanical damage to the vehicle and cost you more money for repairs. Your insurance provider may also question why you drove it, and claim that some of the additional damages were caused by you, so they don't have to pay for them.

The Black Box Could be Effected  

If you need evidence for your case that you weren't the one that caused the accident, or if you are being cited for something you didn't do, the black box in the vehicle could be a great source of evidence. This is a data recorder that is in a majority of vehicles that are on the roads today, and it will report exactly what you were doing at the time of the accident. Driving the damaged vehicle could alter the reading.

Safety Concerns

You may not be able to notice there was damage to your brake lines, and you could have problems stopping after getting on the roads. An internal fluid leak could cause a fire, and other damages could cause the vehicle to steer or drive awkwardly, putting you at risk. Have the vehicle towed so you don't have to worry about harming yourself or others on the roads.

There are towing companies available 24 hours a day, like towing services in your area, if you need to have your vehicle picked up on the side of the road. If you have any orange cones or flags, light sticks or other emergency signals, place them around the vehicle so that other drivers know that it isn't moving.

You don't want the vehicle to get in another collision while it's waiting to get picked up. If the police have already left the scene of the accident and you are going to leave, call the station to let them know that the car will be there until the tow company can pick it up, so you don't get a ticket.

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