A set of standardised guidelines or best practices on how a driver should respond in an accident is necessary.

Currently, the basic practice, regardless of who is in the right, is for the driver to take pictures of the scene, exchange particulars with the other driver and summon medical assistance if someone is injured.

After I received my driving licence in 2010, I was less gripped by fear but more filled with confusion on how to react in an accident.

This would be common among new drivers. We leave driving school endowed with practical driving skills, but wholly unprepared for accidents, which are inevitable.

And as I was to find out, there are further complexities a driver should be prepared for.

These include how to negotiate with the other driver to assess any compensation or damage, which workshop to approach, whether insurance policies should be invoked and, most importantly, whether a police report should be made. In accidents involving personal injury, a police report must be made within 24 hours.

Knowing what to do in an accident would help to ensure safety on the road.

Drivers should be taught this and even be tested on it.

That way, when an accident happens, they will know what to do to protect their interests and to secure the safety of those around them.

Manoj Belani