On a completely non-technical note, I thought I'd share with my fellow colleagues (and anyone who searches for this info), what to do in case of a car accident in the United States.
See, in Costa Rica, whenever you are in a car accident, you leave your cars as they are until the police officer decides to drop by. This is mainly done because in Costa Rica, many people drive without insurance, so they will go any length in trying to avoid to pay for the damages they have done. The only way to get them (guilty counterpart) to pay is by having the cop see the accident scene as it happened and then settle in court. This, of course, leads to massive traffic when an accident happens.
Anyhow, back to the accidents in the US story. I had the (dis) pleasure of being in an accident last Saturday in Boston. I had the honor of being crashed by none other than "
Paul from Revere", on his slightly big tank car. Here is what they look like:
Yeah, that's right, the amphibious tank smacked me real good and left quite some damage on my rented car:
So here is what you need to do if ever on an accident in the US:
- Move your car out of the way to avoid traffic congestion (your inner Costa Rican conscience will make it very hard to accomplish this task).
- Find out if everyone is alright, call 911 otherwise
- You need to find out the following info from the driver who crashed your car: Name, Address, Company, Insurance Company, Insurance Claim Number
- Write down the time and street name where the accident happened
- Write down the names and numbers of some witnesses around who can corroborate what happened
Once you have collected this info, call your company insurance and file a claim. You will also need to file a report in the accident form that is usually found in the glove compartment of your rented car.
Hope this helps someone in the future!