Accident Recovery Checklist

A practical checklist covering safety, photographs, wheel damage, insurance details and destination planning after a collision. The aim is to help you make a safer, clearer next decision. It is not a remote diagnosis and it does not replace the emergency services, the vehicle handbook, your insurer or a qualified workshop.

Start with safety, then note what you can actually see and hear. The most useful information normally includes wheel angle, tyre and suspension damage, steering movement, fluid leaks, deployed airbags, broken glass, bodywork touching a wheel and whether the vehicle can be placed in neutral, together with the exact location and a suitable destination if the vehicle needs to be moved.

Capture wheel positions, suspension, body contact with tyres, fluid leaks, glass and the wider access area without entering live traffic.

This point may also change the quote because AtWheel has to consider dispatch travel, scene waiting, difficult loading, damaged or locked wheels, debris or access issues, loaded mileage, storage instructions and destination requirements. Giving the information early helps us tell the difference between a straightforward attendance and a job that needs extra loading time, different equipment or further checks before dispatch.

Photographs are useful when taken safely. A wide image can show road width, barriers, walls and loading space; a close image can show damage or a warning message. Never stand in traffic or move unstable parts simply to take a picture.

Confirm whether the insurer, repairer or owner requires a bodyshop, assessment centre, storage facility or home address.

Vehicle-specific instructions matter. The safe method may involve photograph-led condition assessment, careful winch planning and platform transport that accounts for wheel, steering, suspension, body and fluid-loss damage. Weight, low clearance, wheel movement and manufacturer procedures can all override a generic approach that worked on another vehicle.

Say when something has not been checked. Missing keys, electronic parking brakes, EV neutral procedures and locked wheels are easier to plan for when the uncertainty is known before attendance.

Do not guess the fault, give only a town name, hide missing keys or locked wheels, or assume a closed garage will accept the vehicle. These details can change the equipment, route and price. It is always better to say “not checked” than to confirm something that turns out to be wrong.

Avoid repeated starting attempts, improvised towing and unsafe roadside repairs. A vehicle that starts after a collision may still have serious steering, suspension or tyre damage. Call 999 for injury, fire, a live-lane obstruction or immediate danger before contacting a private recovery operator.

Before setting off, we confirm the registration, collection point, destination, vehicle condition and access. We check them again when we reach the vehicle, because faults and circumstances sometimes turn out to be different from the first description. A locked wheel, missing key, extra damage, heavier vehicle or closed destination can change the safest way to complete the job, the equipment needed and the price. When something important has changed, we pause and agree the next step rather than carrying on under the wrong assumptions.

At the destination, the vehicle should be left in the agreed position and handed to the correct person or business. Keys, release references and any paperwork are returned as instructed, and the customer is told when the movement is complete. Where access, waiting time or a change of destination affected the job, that is explained clearly rather than left for somebody else to discover later.

Useful access notes can make a repeat collection easier, but they still need checking each time. Gates, staff, opening hours, parked vehicles, road restrictions and the condition of the vehicle can all change. Current information from the customer or site contact is always more useful than assuming the next job will be exactly like the last one.