While it's important to cooperate fully with the police at the accident scene, when you're emotionally upset isn't the time to judge whether - or to what degree - you were at fault. You may not be thinking clearly, so be careful what you say. When giving a statement to the police, stick to the facts you're sure of, being as brief as possible. Since ICBC will use the police report to help them decide who was at fault, make sure the diagram drawn of the accident scene is accurate.

If you notice anything that might have contributed to the accident - bald tires on another car, open beer cans on the front seat, an expired inspection sticker - you can bring this to the attention of the police and ask that it be mentioned in their accident report. Try to take photos of the accident scene, even if you have to do it later after the cars have been moved.

If the police aren't at the accident scene, you need to report the accident to the police if anyone was injured, property damage exceeds $1,000 (or $600 in a motorbike accident), or it's a hit-and-run. This should be done within 24 hours in an urban area and within 48 hours in a rural area. Someone can report the accident to the police for you if you're unable to do this yourself. When a driver can't report an accident but a passenger can, it's their responsibility to do this.

Even if you don't think you were injured, get yourself checked out by a doctor as soon as possible. Serious injuries can occur without being visible or obvious. Unless you're checked out by a doctor and her observations clearly documented, ICBC may deny that your problems were caused by your accident.

Before you phone the ICBC Dial-A-Claim Centre to report your accident, give yourself time to calm down and review what you're going to say. If your injuries prevent you from phoning Dial-A-Claim, someone can do this for you, but it should still be done promptly - preferably within 24 hours. You'll be asked for contact information for passengers, witnesses and anyone injured, as well as for the other driver (if any). If anyone was charged with a traffic violation or criminal offense in connection to the accident, the Dial-A-Claim Centre will want to know who this is and what charges were made.

Over the next day or two, write down your recollections of what happened in as much detail as possible. Your memories will fade over time, and there may be things you'll want to remember later for legal-insurance purposes. A description in your own words of what happened, what injuries you had, what treatment you received, and what your emotional reactions have been, will help refresh your memory later.

If you may have been at fault in an accident in which anyone was seriously injured or killed, get legal advice as soon as possible.