Ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft are being used more than ever before, and this has seen a huge increase in the number of those vehicles on the road. According to Forbes, annual Uber trips alone have gone from 140 million in 2014 to a whopping 6.9 billion in just 6 years, and the figures are rising. As you can imagine with so many cars on the road, the volume of Uber Lyft accidents has also risen.
If you are involved in an accident, there are some steps to follow, which are worth bearing in mind.
Troubling Stats
These stats from 2019 show exactly why you need to remember what to do in the event of an accident.
- Uber vehicles were involved in 97 fatal crashes, of which there were 107 deaths
- Of those deaths 21%were drivers and another 21% were riders
There aren’t available statistics for the number of accidents which these ride sharing services get into, but given that death toll we can safely assume that there are many, especially given the volume of cars on the road.
Calling The Police
The first thing that you should do following an accident is to call the police. It doesn’t matter what the driver of the vehicle tells you regarding this, it is your responsibility to do so. The police should come to the scene of the accident, no matter what the driver decides to do.
Gathering Information
If you are fit and able to, it is going to be very helpful to gather as much information as you can about what happened. Try to take as many photos of the crash scene and ask anyone around if they saw what happened, and take their details. The more evidence that you can gather at this stage, the better it will be.
Get a Checkup
Even if you do not feel unwell or injured following the accident, it is still a good idea to make sure that you get a check up. Very often the adrenalin which is pumping around your system may mask the pain that you feel, and other injuries like whiplash can take some time to come on.
Report To The Company
And finally it will be important that you report what has happened directly to Uber or Lyft. Both of these companies have sections on their website where you can add this kind of information, and they will ask you to fill out a report with them detailing the events. If you need to make a claim at a later date then you will have to have filled out this kind of report first.
And finally if you have suffered in any way from the event then it will be important for you to speak with legal specialists who can help you with your next steps regarding taking legal action.