Kentucky is one of the biggest states in the southern United States, and has a population in the millions, all of whom loving driving on the state’s beautiful highways to enjoy the countryside.
However, this results in a high rate of accidents, especially those in cars and trucks, which are the most widely used vehicles in the state.
If you find yourself driving often, you may want to know how to read and create an accident report, just in case you ever find yourself in a sticky situation.
1-Â Â Â Who was involved
The first step in reading a Kentucky car accident report is to understand all of the people who were present, and this is something the police will be able to identify when they come onto the scene.
The police will take the time to go to each party that was involved in the accident, not just the drivers but also the other people in the car, and any other vehicles or pedestrians that may have been involved.
This will serve as a kind of proof that certain people were present on the day of the accident, which is incredibly important both for criminal proceedings and for lawsuits since you’ll be able to identify people involved in the crash.
This information will include the name, mobile number, and address of everyone involved so that you can track down whoever you need to after the fact.
2-Â Â Â Causes
There are many potential causes in every accident, and since, in many cases, one or both parties in an accident may not be in the right condition to explain their line of thinking, the responsibility of reporting these causes falls onto the police officers present.
Under this heading, the police will put all of the contributing factors to the crash, since many accidents can occur even if no one made any major mistakes.
Some of the most common factors include slippery or broken roads that increase braking time, poor weather, rain, snow, or even smog. If there are enough contributing factors, your insurance company may offer you an even faster claim than what you may be expecting.
3-Â Â Â Narrative
The narrative section of the report focuses on presenting the story of the crash exactly how it happened, portraying the mindset of everyone that was involved even before they got in the car, and combines external factors like rain and poor roads along with internal ones like a driver being in a rush or looking at their phone while driving, to paint a clearer picture of what really happened on the day of the accident, and who may be more in the wrong.
This narrative is incredibly important for most insurance claims and lawsuits since it presents the story of the accident in a clear, factual, and unbiased way, and many people rely on it to interpret fault in a crash.
4-Â Â Â Damages
The damages that were sustained to each vehicle involved, as well as to the infrastructure like roads or street lamps, have to be meticulously recorded and accounted for by the police, sometimes with the help of the drivers involved.
Reports have to be filed if the damage is above 500 USD, and if it is, the police will have to estimate how much money was lost and the exact condition in which they found both of the cars.
This is another form of documentation that proves to insurance companies what state your car was in immediately after the crash, and they’ll be able to calculate how much money you’ll need for repairs.
5-Â Â Â Witnesses
The witnesses involved in an accident are crucial, and police always make sure to take their interviews so that they can get a view of the full picture from an unbiased perspective.
These witnesses include people nearby in shops or on the street who saw the accident, the drivers themselves, passengers, and even the other cops who reported.
This report allows a more cohesive version of events to form the report, which is the closest representation of what really happened on the day of the accident.
Conclusion
Car accidents are incredibly common throughout the world, but, in the United States, there are a lot of regulations surrounding them due to insurance interests and changes in laws at the state level.
Since these laws differ from state to state, you’ll have a different experience dealing with a car accident depending on where you are, and if you’re in Kentucky, you’ll have to know how to read the relevant car accident report.
