The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

WHIITBY FREE PRESS, DURHAM MOVES,APRIL 6,1988, PAGE A3 What you should do in the event of an accident By PETER BRAMMA Durham Regional Police During 1986 there were 7,595 motor vehicle accidents reported to Durham Regional Police. If you are in an accident here's what to do: STOP! Every driver involved directly or indirectly in an accident must remain at or immediately return to the scene of the accident. Drivers are also required to rerider ail possible assistance and provide: Their name and address, name and address of the owner of the vehicle, the vehicle plate number and, the pink liability insurance card to the police or anyone sustaining loss or injury. Note, if you lend your vehicle to anyone make sure they have the ownership and insurance çards for the vehicle. The law requires the driver to be able to produce them if stopped by the police. KEEP CALM and follow these seven steps: 1. Leave the vehicles where they came to rest. Do not move the vehicles off the roadway unless ab- solutely necessary as moving them may make it difficult for the police make an accurate investigation. 2. Turn off all vehicles' engines and turn on the - emergency flashers. If the accident is in a "blind spot" arrange for some kind of warning to other drivers ap- proaching the accident scene. 3. Don't let anyone smoke, light a match, or place flares near vehicles as there may be a fuel leak. 4. Do not attempt to remove in- jured persons from vehicles unless there is an immediate threat of fire or other danger. It's best to let the rescue personnel take care of removal. 5. If there are ANY personal in- juries or if the damage to the vehicles involved apparently ex- Bea SALES HOURS: Mon. - Thurs. 9 - 9 pm Fri. - Sat. 9 - 6 pm SERVICE HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 7:30 - 6 pm 428- 2717 lie, i ceeds $700 you are required by law to immediately call the police. You must also call the police if any property on or alongside the high- way has*been damaged by your vehicle. Durham Regional Police emergency numbers are: - Bowmanville, Oshawa, Whitby, 579-1234; Ajax, Claremont, Pickering, 427-5555. 6. Obtain the names, addresses and 'phone numbers of all wit- nesses who cannot remain to assist the police officer in his or her in- vestigation. A lack of independent witnesses can sometimes make it difficult for the officer get a true story of what took place. Remem- ber too, if you witness an accident please stay at the scene. If it is not possible to stay at least leave your name and 'phone number with one of the drivers (usually the one you feel is not at fault) or if you wish, telephone the police as soon as you can get to a 'phone and relay briefly what took place. 7. If the damage is minor, under $700 and no injury, you may not need to call the police. Both drivers mustagree though that they are content to handle the accident themselves and have established whose fault it was. If this is the case thin make sure the information ob- tained from the other driver(s) in- volved includes: - -Drivers age, address, drivers licence number and phone number; -Make, type and year of vehicle; vehicle plate number, year and province; name of insurance com- pany, agent and policy number; note date, time and location of the accident; estimated damage and cost of repair to all vehicles in- volved. Unable to Decide: If you are in an accident and are not sure whether to handle it yourself, or if the other driver cannot produce the proper documents, call the police right away to be on the safe side. Be cautious of the driver who insists right away that the police are not required, he or she might be just the person who the police should ii- vestigate! So, please drive carefully and maybe you will never have to use this accident information. uty and the Beast 599 Kingston Rd. W . DONN N VOlO S $9,995 and $6,995 are manufacturer's suggested retail price. Dealer may sell for less. We are equipped to service (corne o . No.2 & ail foreign & domestic vechicles C I!IIIh t A -J,,, *SUZUKI FORSA AND SAMURAI Iii ~ ~ 21 rA L. k uurcn o. jax)