When I wrecked my car this summer, I thought the worst of it was the damage, the phone call to my mother and subsequent lack of a car for the foreseeable future. My car was totaled: the frame was bent, everything had flown out of the broken windows and was lying in the mud (it had just started to rain), and a crushed pit replaced my passenger side. The call to my mother was brief but highly emotional, especially because she had been asleep. As for getting another car, I’m still looking. What I discovered, however, was that this was just the beginning of a long, drawn-out and complicated process.

It was one of the worst ordeals of my life, mostly because I felt so helpless the entire time. No one had taught me what to do if I actually got into an accident. With the hopes of easing the pain of others, here are a few tips from experts and people who have lived through an accident, about what students should do when and if it happens to them.

First things first

After checking to make sure everyone involved is OK, the first thing to do is call the police, says Kim Murphree, records manager and media contact for the Douglas County Police Department. According to Murphree, Kansas Standard Traffic Ordinances state that all accidents — both injury and non-injury — that occur on public property with damage of $1,000 or more must be reported to the police. Additionally, most insurance companies require a police report to process claims, even if the accident occurs on private property. Because it doesn’t take a huge impact to cause that sort of damage, a police report is usually necessary, Murphree says.

Rachelle Schneider, a former KU student, had such an accident where it didn’t take much to total her car. According to Schneider, it was mid-afternoon when she rear-ended a car in front of her on 23rd and Iowa Streets. Schneider says she asked the man in the car that she hit if he was all right, then called her mother, and then she called the police.

“It was very embarrassing,“ Schneider says, “and very stressful, especially since everyone was driving by and looking.”

Get on your tows

If the accident leaves the car too damaged to drive, as it was in my case, the next step is to call a towing service. The most important thing to remember is that individuals have the right to call the towing service of their choice, says Michelle Moon, owner of A&M Towing and Recovery, 501 Maple St. Your insurance company can offer you advice on which company to use, Moon says, but ultimately the choice is yours.

To decrease stress when the time comes to call a tow service, Moon suggests doing some pre-wreck research so you know exactly which service you want to call and about how much they’ll charge. Moon’s tip: even if you aren’t a member of a motor club, you can still call them up and ask them for advice. That way, you’re more likely to do business with a credible company.

Visit the body shop

Taylor Rubin, St. Louis senior, was driving back to Lawrence from St. Louis last fall in the pouring rain when she lost control of her car, rocketed from the right lane into the left lane and ended up backwards in the ditch. Because she was between St. Louis and Lawrence and didn’t know any auto body shops in the area, she took the advice of the police officers on the scene and had the car towed to a local shop.

The most frustrating part of her ordeal, she says, was waiting for the auto body shop to finish work on her car. Rubin says they kept pushing back the finish date and she spent about three months without a car.

Donita DeMersseman, office manager at Hite Collision Repair Center, Inc., 3401 W. Sixth St., says that although she doesn’t know the specifics of Rubin’s situation, many factors could have played a part in the prolonging of her car’s work. First of all, she says, the repair shop can only do so much at a time. It takes time to order parts, DeMersseman says, especially if they are for a foreign car.

As far as the preliminary date goes, DeMersseman advises that people keep in mind that “the original estimate is just that: an estimate.”

For do-it-yourselfers

Some people take matters into their own hands if they deem the accident minor enough. When Mark Petterson, Prairie Village sophomore, wrecked his 1978 Nighthawk motorcycle last September, he didn’t get the police or insurance companies involved, mostly because he didn’t have medical or motorcycle insurance. It had started raining, which made the road slick enough to cause the front tire to slip out from under him, Petterson says. The front tire was badly bent after the accident, Petterson says, but instead of taking it into a body shop, he just recruited a few friends to help him bend it back into place. It took him a little while to feel comfortable driving his motorcycle again, but he says he’s now back on the road.

According to Petterson, he slid about 20–30 feet, with the bike on top of him the whole time. Petterson says that the heat from the engine burned his legs and one of the handlebars rammed into his chest. Aside from the scars on his legs, though, he suffered no permanent damage. Petterson says he is thankful that at least he was wearing his helmet and encourages everyone who rides a motorcycle to wear one.

“Riding a motorcycle is one of the stupidest things you can do,” Petterson says. “Not wearing a helmet is just ridiculous.”