Accident Behavior

Projecting Accident Behavior

There's no easy way to deal with an accident. When you're the cause of an accident, panic and fear set in immediately and the first reaction a lot of people have is to run away. When someone leaves the scene of an accident that they caused, the only reason other people think they have for leaving is to keep from facing the consequences of causing an accident, but it is really, projecting.

A lot of people would flee the scene of an accident to avoid getting in trouble and those people assume that everyone else thinks the exact same way they do. There are so many people that think no one else is more honorable and honest than them. There's a bit of ego to it. It's a mindset of “If I would do this then so would you because there's no way you're a better person than me.”

There are honorable and honest people in the world, albeit rare. Not everyone runs to avoid responsibility. If you just stay calm, stick around, and do what you can to take away as much of the devastation of the situation as you can then everyone will actually come out of it a lot better then if you run off.

Irrational Accident Behavior

When a person gets into an accident, the onset of panic and fear is so fast that people don't even realize they're feeling panic and fear. They don't take time to process the emotion they're feeling. They just feel it and react to it. The reaction is usually to get as far away from the scene of the accident as possible. Other people that aren't feeling that panic and fear assume the person left because they're trying to avoid the consequences. That line of thinking is the thinking of a rational mind.

When someone gets into an accident, leaving the scene is an irrational act. When that panic and fear set in, there is no coherent thought going on in that person's mind. There is only emotion and that emotion is directing the driver to get away from the cause of that emotion which is the scene of the accident. They'll probably go home because home is calming and comforting. It's a place where people feel safe from panic and fear. Once a person has calmed down, they should return to the scene or go to the police to let them know what happened. If the police find them first then they'll be in a lot more trouble than if they took the initiative to talk to the police.

Honorable And Rational Accident Behavior

Examples of what a person does when he or she gets into an accident are so abundant and readily available for anyone to read about at any given time that people assume that's what everyone does when anyone gets into an accident.

The truth is that not everyone behaves in a dishonorable and irrational manner when they get into an accident. Those are just the only situations that get any face time. There's nothing exciting about exchanging your information, filing a report and moving on with your day. That's what you should do and that's what people actually do most of the time. It's the easiest way to deal with the situation: get into an accident, write down your insurance and identifying information, file a report with the police, notify your insurance company and continue on with what you were doing before the accident happened.

As long as no one freaks over the situation, especially over a scuffed bumper or broken taillight, there's no reason for the media or random YouTubers to record and broadcast the incident. It takes away people's motivation to reinforce an already ridiculous stereotype.

It's a very old and very simple philosophy: Lead by Example. If you want people to do the right thing then do the right thing. When you get into an accident, exchange information, file a report and move on. If the other person is being irrational then just let it roll off of you. Get the information and report taken care of as best you can. The yelling and screaming of the other person is only going to make it worse for them as long as you just let it go. Reacting to their crazy behavior will just escalate the situation into something it doesn't need to be and this behavior could get you into a lot more trouble than you ever had to be in.