Accidents on today’s roads are an unfortunate yet common occurrence. Over 6 million car accidents happen in the United States per year based on recent car accident statistics.
Thankfully, major technological advances are equipping regular drivers with innovative resources to properly document accident scenes – making it easier to quickly and accurately establish fault.
Dash Cams and Video Footage
Having objective footage from your point of view is extremely valuable after a collision.
For example, if someone merges into your lane and hits you, your dash cam would clearly show their vehicle abruptly swinging into your path, documenting conclusively that they failed to yield the right of way.
These devices are incredibly valuable after an accident occurs. They create objective video documentation of the collision from the driver’s point of view.
So, how exactly does dashcam footage help with claims?
Dashcam video can help settle a few major questions:
- Who caused the accident? The footage may clearly show one driver at fault, helping their insurance company determine liability.
- What exactly happened during the collision? It provides visual evidence from one driver’s vantage point.
- How severe was the accident? Dash cams capture speed, angle of impact, and more to demonstrate the intensity of the crash.
All this information goes a long way during the claims investigation and settlement process after an accident. And it is great since objective video proof is very hard to dispute.
Many insurance providers even offer policy discounts for drivers with dash cams since the equipment helps accurately identify at-fault drivers.
Event Data Recorders
What kind of details do EDRs record and store?
EDRs can keep track of:
- Vehicle speed
- Brake application
- Acceleration or deceleration
- Seatbelt usage
- Airbag deployment
- And more
This objective data gives insurance companies and legal teams factual evidence about the moments leading up to a crash, during impact, and afterward.
As with dashcam footage, EDRs eliminate a lot of subjectivity in the claims process following an accident. The recorder doesn’t take sides or get details wrong due to faulty memory.
It just shows exactly how fast each car was moving, if the driver attempted braking, and more based purely on sensor measurements. This is often incredibly valuable especially when it comes to determining fault.
Accident Reconstruction Technology
Sophisticated technologies are also appearing that digitally model and reconstruct the chain of events in a vehicle collision aftermath.
Programs like Visual Statement use laser scanning and photography of the crash scene as inputs. Powerful software then renders photorealistic 3D environments, modeling the accident progression from start to finish.
Computer-generated accident reconstruction:
- Visualizes details based on factual data inputs
- Provides multiple perspectives on the collision
- Can simulate visibility, road conditions, and more
- Calculates speeds, angles, and force of impact to help determine fault
This technology takes the guesswork out of what happened by leveraging science and physics formulas to recreate the scene digitally. The rendering pulls data from EDRs, dash cams, sensor readings, and eyewitness statements to simulate the incident.
The end recreation then serves as a fact-based model for insurance and legal professionals to understand exactly how events unfolded before, during, and after the accident occurred. This aids in establishing liability while settling the claim.
Smartphone Apps
Even your phone can assist with the accident claims process in the modern era through smart mobile apps. This is mainly because they allow you to record details on the spot, regardless of physical condition or injuries after a crash.
Some examples of helpful apps include:
A Crash Helper App
- Quickly documents accident details like date, time, location
- Records weather conditions
- Takes photos of damage, skid marks, etc
- Saves insurer contacts
An Accident Claim Calculator App
Estimates payout amount based on car, repairs, medical bills
Suggests fair settlement offer benchmark
Tracks expenses for later reimbursement
A Record My Call App
Allows discreet call recording when contacting insurance/legal reps
Helps revisit convos easily during the claim process
Ensures nothing gets lost in translation or forgotten
Having an accident claim app installed beforehand lets victims who decide to sue for injuries after a car accident gather hard evidence from the scene.
This gives your insurance company what they need to back up and justify paying out fair compensation for injuries sustained.
Benefits of Tech in Car Accident Claims
As you can see from dashcams to specialized apps and everything in between – technology is making the post-accident claims process significantly more streamlined.
Advancements in AI, 3D modeling, image processing, and more allow objective, factual capturing of incident scenes and data recording.
So how do you benefit from the growing role of technology in car accident claims?
1. Faster Resolution
Detailed digital evidence expedites insurance analysis of what transpired in a collision. This facilitates quicker payouts and claim resolution since the insurer can make accurate liability decisions faster.
As a result, fewer back-and-forth disputes drag out the process since real-time data already provides the required documentation.
2. Bigger Settlements
More proof on hand related to the specific circumstances of your accident equals bigger winnings.
Whether video footage demonstrating another driver clearly at fault, EDR readings validating your attempts to brake before impact, or 3D reconstructions fully visualizing a complex scene – you have the hard evidence on your side to justify higher out-of-court legal settlements.
3. Reduced Legal Liability
The same digital records protecting victims can also reduce legal and financial liability for at-fault parties after an incident.
For example, if the camera video shows the plaintiff was distracted by their phone and veered suddenly into your lane, it may prevent you from false blame or reckless driving charges.
The truth catches incidents from multiple angles – working both ways for persons on either side of a collision case nowadays.
4. Lower Insurance Premiums
Fact-based claims facilitate lower premiums for policyholders committed to safety habits behind the wheel. In fact, devices like dashcams allow insurers to reward those good driving behaviors with policy discounts.
Looking Ahead at Claims Tech
Vehicle connectivity platforms point toward the future of accident claims processing. As more automotive systems integrate and talk to one another digitally, cars themselves will be able to automatically alert first responders when collisions occur.
Imagine your vehicle detecting a crash, recording all the onboard sensor data at the time, immediately notifying 911, and transmitting this bundle of objective documentation directly to insurer partners to kick off your claim. That is the future to look forward to.
This vehicle-to-infrastructure communication demonstrates how the claims adjustments process for accidents could one day happen almost instantly. Your car collates the facts and pushes them to the required channels in seconds.
We aren’t quite there yet across the board. But huge strides in traffic-aware driving guidance, embedded vehicle sensors and forward-thinking insurance technology indicate that fully automated accident claim responses could be here faster than we think.
Key Takeaways
Technology is positively impacting the vehicle accident claims process for everyone through:
- Dash cams providing video documentation of collisions
- Event data recorders tracking technical vehicle responses
- Accident reconstruction rendering realistic 3D environments
- Smartphone apps to collect on-site details immediately
Leveraging these tech innovations leads to faster claim resolution, increased settlement winnings, reduced legal liability, and lower insurance rates over time for safer drivers.
So consider getting a dash cam, downloading a couple of key apps, and checking if your vehicle has an internal event data recorder.
Being prepared with tech can make all the difference if you ever need to file an automotive accident claim down the road!
