After a New Jersey car crash, your first concern may be making sure no one involved in the wreck suffered any serious injuries. Once you determine that there are no major injuries, but before you leave the scene, document the vehicles, crash site and any other circumstances that may have contributed to the incident.
Having photographic evidence of what occurred may strengthen your case in the event that you need to make an insurance claim. When photographing the crash scene, you may want to take the following steps.
Snap photos of personal information
Rather than write down the names and contact information of everyone involved in the crash, snap photos of driver’s licenses, registrations and insurance information. Having this information photographed helps you avoid issues resulting from misspellings or similar errors.
Snap photos from many angles
When photographing the scene of a crash, try to over-, rather than under-, document. Snap photos from multiple angles and distances, and be sure, too, to document any road construction or other circumstances that may have played a role in the wreck.
Snap photos with and without a flash
Depending on the time of day, using flash photography could strengthen or weaken your photographic evidence. It is wise to snap photos from the same angles with and without using flash, as some images may prove harder to see than others.
If you are not sure whether you need to photograph a particular part of a crash scene, err on the side of caution and snap away. You never know what images might carry the most weight.
