What to do after a car accident in California

1. Make the scene safe

Check whether anyone is hurt. Call 911 if they are, or if the cars are blocking traffic.

If the vehicles are drivable and nobody is injured, move them out of the lane. California expects you to clear the roadway when it is safe to do so.

Turn on hazards. Stay out of live lanes while you sort the rest.

2. Exchange the right information

You need four things from the other driver: full name, phone number, insurance company and policy number, and the license plate.

Photograph their insurance card and plate rather than writing them down. Handwriting fails; photos do not.

Do not discuss fault at the scene. You do not yet know what the damage will show, and neither does anyone else standing there.

3. Photograph everything

This is the step people regret skipping. Take more than feels necessary — you cannot return to this moment.

• Wide shots of both cars and where they came to rest.
• Close-ups of every damaged panel on both vehicles.
• The other car's plate, and both insurance cards.
• The intersection, signals, skid marks, and any debris.
• Anything that explains context: weather, road work, blocked signage.

These same photos are what a body shop needs to write you a preliminary estimate, so they do double duty.

4. Report it

Call your insurance company to open the claim. You can do this before you decide anything about repairs.

California also requires a DMV report (form SR-1) within 10 days if anyone was injured or killed, or if property damage looks like it exceeds $1,000. Most collision damage clears $1,000 easily, so assume this applies to you.

If police responded, get the report number. If they did not, your photos carry more weight.

5. Choose your repair shop — this one is yours

Your insurer will likely name a shop from its network. That is a recommendation, not an instruction.

California Insurance Code §758.5 says no insurer can require you to repair your car at any specific shop. They must pay the reasonable cost of repair at the shop you choose, and they cannot raise your deductible or reduce your coverage because you chose it.

You may also receive a document called the Auto Body Repair Consumer Bill of Rights. Your insurer is required by law to give it to you, and the right to choose your shop is the first item on it.

One sentence to your adjuster settles it: "I'm choosing my own shop under Insurance Code 758.5 — please send the assignment there."

More on how the claim works once you've chosen →

6. Get the damage looked at properly

Collision damage hides. A bumper that looks scuffed can conceal broken absorbers and misaligned sensors; a door that closes can sit on a bent structure.

A proper inspection tells you what the car actually needs — which is also what your claim should actually cover.

At F1 Collision Center you can send photos for a free written estimate, or bring the car to 14332 Oxnard Street, Van Nuys, CA 91401 and we will look at it with you. Depending on what the damage turns out to be, that path leads to collision repair, frame and structural repair, body and paint work, or glass replacement.

Two things people get wrong

Accepting the first number. An initial estimate is written from the outside of the car. What teardown reveals becomes a supplement — a normal, expected part of collision claims, not a sign something went wrong.

Waiting. Damage that sits gets worse: exposed metal corrodes, misalignment wears tires, and a cracked windshield spreads. Getting looked at early costs nothing and preserves your options.