What if you are involved in an automobile accident in the US
With increasing Chinese tourists and visitors who have driving licenses to the US it is only a matter of time before they will be involved in an automobile accident. Being a visitor to the US, you are at a disadvantage in several ways. I assembled the following for you to know just in case.
1. Let us hope first of all there are no serious personal injuries involved. If yes, you need to get in touch with your embassy or consulate for help with legal matters.
2. The next important thing is that you have insurance. There are two kinds of auto insurance. The first kind is liability insurance for damage/injury to others. The second kind is collision insurance for damage/injury to yourself and vehicle.
3. If you are travelling on official business, your company/organization usually have blanket insurance policy to cover you. Check it out before you leave on your trip. If you are on your own, your credit card may have coverage when you rent a car using the card. Rental Car Company usually has liability insurance as part of the rental. But youll have to purchase collision insurance (about$10.00/day of rental) if your credit card does not provide it.
4. Always get the name/address/phone number/licenses (both for the car and driver) of the other party involved. Call the police via 911 to report the accident. Get witness name/address if possible
5. Use your smart phone to take photos of the accident/damage if the accident is serious.
6. Do not argue with the other party as to who is at fault. Road rage occurs often and can lead to violence .There is no need to aggravate the situation.
7. Sometime,the other party may offer to settle the matter privately without involving official parties (since their insurance rate may go up substantially if s/he is involved in an accident when s/he is at fault or they may have things to hide from officials). Generally, it is unwise get involved in such dealings since you are a temporary visitor.
Good luck and hope you never have to utilize the above information.