What to do after a car accident on Long Island

Get safe first, call 911 if anyone is hurt, and document everything before you talk to any insurance company. On the Southern State, Northern State, or LIE, get to the shoulder before you do anything else. Below is the full sequence, plus what changes when it happens on a parkway.

1. 1

   Get off the travel lane if you can. On a parkway like the Southern State or Northern State, there is often no real shoulder, so move as far right as possible and put your hazards on.

2. 2

   Call 911 if anyone is hurt or a car can't be moved under its own power. On the parkways, 911 routes you to the parkway police, who handle those roads.

3. 3

   Photograph the damage, both plates, where the cars ended up, and the other driver's insurance card before anything gets moved.

4. 4

   Exchange name, insurance, and plate information. Keep it to facts. Don't guess at fault and don't apologize out loud, sort out what happened later.

5. 5

   Call Maestro before you file anything. We walk through what you're looking at and what usually happens next, so you're not guessing when the adjuster calls.

General information, not legal advice.