OCR Text |
Show Si OFKCIDBT penjL 'f (By GEORGE F. KAISER.) V-j. ' You may be the most careful motor -i fjr driver in the world and still be bt j nTOived in a motor car accident The Cows ' nere fact that you drive carefully 6M, yourself is no guarantee that other , Edorists will do likewise. If you 3 : sue Insurance you are protected, of dhi j onrse, up lo the amount of insurance to tit ' too carry, but there is always a pos- r I ability tflat ,f 5"ou havo a ?5000 . , ' ' pUcy, tho Jury may render a $7000 ' "to-; i Tr4ict against you, or, If you havo uekij i i jin.PAO policy tho jury may render lAincii I i a J12.000 verdict against you. It is M icU to remember that juries are not ts'ti.' ) iMys able to determine the party htia ) J'toally at fault, and that sometimes , 1 tie unintentionally do an injustice by n2tI'1 i rendering a verdict against am an 8t dt-j rtri, in reality, was careful in every rrui ') T4Ji V.Tiat t0 do in case of acetyl acet-yl ! at is therefore very important in nl ' c',r t0 s111 3'0Ur o"n interests 8 ,; trWhcr you are at fault or not and n hi 'j r.wrjT your car or some other per-JEtft per-JEtft S car sustains tho damages r ai- Tftp Ir3t thing to do in case an ac-.' ac-.' ' ' f dent occurs is to stop. The laws 16 cf most of the states provide that a tit f rson must stop, give his uarao, his ttj residence, including street number . " J 'id his license number, to the In-l In-l P3rty or a police officer. In ' en itj; , ;!, E0 pollco officer is present, he . ;! nt report tho accident to tho near-(& near-(& police station. Failure to do this a a felony and Is punishable by a fine ' k HI LI of not more than $500 or by Imprison, i mont for a term not exceeding two years, or both fine and imprisonment, It is therefore very Important to I stop and make yourself known. If, every time an accident occurred, tho motorist could havo his attorney present, his interests would be much better safeguarded and the -work of the attorney in preparing to institute or defend a suit for damages would bo much simplified. Of courso, thic is impossible. If the first thing lo do is to stop, then tho second is to investigate. If the other car Is driven by a man in an intoxicated condition or a small boy, make a note of the fact. If a jury learns that a driver was Intoxicnted at tho time an accident occurs It will usually infer that was the cause of tho accident. So. too, tho small boy may havo no right to drivo a motor car, or may not be a competent person to do so. These are valuable factB in your favor. Note the license number of tho other car carefully, and whether or not blinding lights, defectivo brakes, or driving on the wrong side of the road caused the collision. A per son's memory is not always trustworthy, trust-worthy, but notes made at a time like this are. The driver of the car should not bo the only one to do this. If the passengers alight and circulato among the crowd which is bound to gather practically anywhere an accident ac-cident can occur, they can gel much interesting information. If you aro the careless party, investigate immediately immedi-ately w.hat damages were sustained by the other car and the persons In it and note them down. Do not trust to memory, but got pencil and paper instantly aud set the damages down in full, examining tho car carefully and seeing as par as possible what injur ies wero sustained by tho occupants. Meanwhile follow tho advico to aliens sinco war was declared "keep your mouth shut," and let mo add that you want to keep It shut tightly. Do not tell anyone that it was your fault or that it was the othor man's fault. Do not say that it sorved him right or that you aro sorry, but keep your oyes and ears open and your mouth shut, as far as a discussion of responsibility is concerned. ' No matter who was to blame you next want eyo witnesses as you can find. Do not tell peoplo that you want them for witnesses as most people aro court-shy, but overy time you hear somebody telling another an-other person what happened, ask him if he saw it happen. If he says yes, then try to get his name and address. If the occupants of other cars saw tho accident and refuse to givo their names, jot down the license number of their car. This will at least give your attorney a little clue as to who tho people are who havo an actual knowledge of what occurred. If your car Is the one that was damaged and tho negligence is that of the other party, show him what damages your car sustained and then note down what he says when he looks at the injuries. in-juries. If you have insurance, report the accident to the place specified in your policy, as the place where accidents should be reported, immediately. At a time like this, the fact that a policy has been carefully read by you will be a big advantage because you will know just exactly -what to do. Tho sensible thing to do is to copy down In your note book beforehand the particulars from your policy as to reporting an accident, so that you will always havo it with you. |