What To Do After a Car Accident in Durham, NC: A Step-by-Step Guide

Accidents are disorienting even when nobody is hurt. Your heart is pounding, traffic is flying past, and you have to make a series of decisions quickly. Having a clear checklist in your head (or saved on your phone) makes the whole situation more manageable. Here's exactly what to do after a car accident in Durham, NC, step by step.

Step 1: Check for Injuries and Get Safe

Before anything else, check yourself and your passengers for injuries. If anyone is hurt, call 911 immediately. If the vehicles are drivable and the accident is minor, North Carolina law allows you to move them out of the travel lanes, and on a road like I-85 or Highway 147, you should. A minor fender bender in a live lane is how secondary accidents happen.

• Turn on hazard lights immediately
• Move drivable vehicles to the shoulder or a parking lot
• If a vehicle can't move, get everyone out and behind a barrier, away from traffic
• Never stand between two vehicles or behind a disabled car in a live lane

Step 2: Call the Police

In North Carolina, you're required to report accidents involving injury, death, or property damage. In practice, call the police for any accident beyond a trivial scrape. In Durham city limits, that's Durham Police; on the interstates it may be NC State Highway Patrol. The crash report they file becomes the backbone of your insurance claim.

Step 3: Document Everything

• Photos of all vehicles from multiple angles, including close-ups of damage and wide shots showing positions
• Photos of the road: skid marks, debris, traffic signs, and signals
• The other driver's name, phone number, license plate, driver's license, and insurance card
• Names and numbers of any witnesses
• The responding officer's name and the report number

Step 4: Decide Where Your Car Goes (Before Someone Decides for You)

If your car can't be driven, it needs a tow, and this is where accident scenes go wrong for a lot of people. Unsolicited tow trucks sometimes appear at accident scenes, hook up fast, and haul cars to storage lots that charge steep daily fees. You have the right to choose your own towing company and your own destination.

Call a towing company you trust, tell them it's an accident recovery, and tell them exactly where you want the vehicle taken: your body shop, your dealership, or your home. If police need the scene cleared urgently, they may call a rotation tow, but if you have time, make the call yourself.

Step 5: Notify Your Insurance Company

Call your insurer from the scene if you can, or as soon as possible after. Have the police report number, the other driver's information, and your photos ready. Most insurers have an app that walks you through the claim, and starting it early speeds everything up, including reimbursement for the tow.

What Accident Towing Looks Like With Bull City Towing

We handle accident recovery across Durham and the surrounding Triangle, coordinating with law enforcement when needed. Your car goes on a flatbed (the only safe option for a damaged vehicle) and it goes exactly where you tell us: your shop of choice, not a mystery storage lot. We give you the price upfront, and we provide the receipt your insurance company will want.