When police officers arrive at the scene of an accident, one of their primary duties is to get everyone at the scene to a safe and secure position, as soon as possible. In addition to making sure that everyone is alright, they will also work quickly to find out what happened when the incident occurred.
The accident can become even more complicated when it involves multiple cars. With that being said, here are some things that you need to know about how a conclusion is drawn about who caused, and/or contributed to a multiple car accident
Statements Are Taken From Each Driver
When officers arrive at the scene of any accident, it is normally the standard procedure for them to talk to each driver of the cars involved. In fact, they will document what the driver remembers about the accident, from the onset of what happened.
For instance, the office will need to know things like: what they were doing when it happened, who was at fault, what the other cars were doing when they were hit, and anything else that the driver recalled before, and at the time that they were hit.
Witnesses Are Interviewed At The Scene
You should also know that it is not uncommon for others to stop to provide input. This is especially true when they’ve witnessed the entire event, and they want to provide supporting information about who was at fault.
For instance, in a multiple car accident, they may able to tell the officers exactly which car ran the red light, and why the other cars were hit.
The Accident Scene Itself Is Reviewed
Before the officer can begin to make a conclusion of the accident that they are investigating, they will also take into account the accident scene itself. In a multiple car accident, they are usually looking for the cars that hit the vehicles in front of them.
These are the drivers that normally would receive the ticket, since they were most likely not driving at a safe distance. In either event, the position of the cars at the scene will tell a story within itself. In some situations, more than one driver may be at fault in a multiple car accident, especially if what has occurred happened for more than one reason.
This could include a car in the front that did not maintain the proper control of their own vehicle, or the driver in the back who was driving too close to avoid the accident. The officer at the scene must use all of this information and more to make the best decision possible.
The Statements And Accident Scene Are Combined To Come Up With A Conclusion
When officers are documenting the scene of an accident, they are required to document a large amount of information. Since the conclusion that they come to is made up of a variety of different sources, it is not always a cut and dry determination.
Therefore, who actually gets the ticket and who is at fault can only be made when everything that has been collected is reviewed.