If you have an Accident. Advice to new drivers.

Not until you talk to lawyer. NEVER! Better to refuse till you do. Even legal scripts can be used against you, you have a 5th amendment right not to offer anything that COULD be used against you.

 

if i had an accident, i would extend apologies, legalities aside

we are people before we are subjects of the court

and if you cant apologize (even if you are right) for seeing someone injured, you have lost a large part of your humanity

 

You must have nothing to lose or family to think of. In today's world, SADLY, that moment of humanity can cost your family their security. I personally have to think of them first, everything else comes second. But that's just me.

 

if my family has to suffer for me doing the right thing, so be it

because doing the wrong thing never has benefit

 

You make them suffer for your mistakes when you can avoid it? How noble, i couldn't do that to the ones I love the most, that would be wrong, IMO.

 

your logic justifies me selling drugs to take care of my loved ones

i could never do that

 

We should also remember, in an accident, shock can set in, and we might not remember what to do. If you have your wits about you, Name, Rank, and Serial #!

 

Certainly an interesting monologue and as we have many new drivers arriving on the scene, many are very immature and don't know how to handle the cops. Cops are only there to enforce the law, it's the courts that dish out the convictions, if any, so with that, as many have said, no point uttering one word to a police officer. They are going to persuade you to say something, they are trained to do that. They know every trick I the book, but you have to resist their overtures. If you open your mouth all you are doing is self incriminating yourself.
I once had an in depth conversation with a police detective, many years ago. The whole premise is to get you to confess, and they use very subtle techniques to achieve this. They can turn a no into a yes, a denial into an admission.
Dont underestimate what a cop is there for. I've also had lawyers give me sage advice about traffic stops. Things that you may not know about, such as your rights and what you shouldn't do, even though the vast majority would. As long as you know the drill, you will be fine. If it's your fault in an accident, you will just have to face the music eventually, just be aware of the probabilities.
Good luck.

 

......And don't post aggressive messages on twitter before slamming into a celebrity limo..... it makes us all look bad and our public image is bad enough as it is.

 

You NEED to watch that video from the first page of this thread. It's a presentation by a lawyer and a cop on why you should say NOTHING. The lawyer specifically noted that statements of "I'm sorry" are easily misconstrued as "It's my fault" by the person hearing you, and often that statement of "I'm sorry" is enough to convict you when that witness gets on the stand and says you admitted guilt.

My company has an accident kit that includes a camera and instruction sheet. Foremost on the instruction sheet, after securing the scene and seeing if anyone is injured, is SHUT UP! Talk to NO ONE. Call the company hotline and they'll get the ball rolling with insurance, etc. Take pictures from every angle and fill out a form.

We live in a litigious society. If you talk to anyone they can construe what you say or twist what you say on the witness stand. If you don't talk to them you haven't given them a chance to make an honest mistake (or dishonest mistake) about what you said.