You never want to be the victim of a hit-and-run. That said they happen more often than one may think.

With this thought in mind, what steps do you need to take when you have been in such an accident?

While your physical health is of course of the utmost importance, there are other factors in play.

So, how will you handle a hit-and-run?

Will You Catch the Perpetrator?

One of the most frustrating things in a hit-and-run is that the driver more times than not gets away with it.

Sure, they may get caught at some point and time, what happens between now and then?

For many victims, they end up with injuries, a damaged vehicle and notable bills.

With that being the case, here are three keys to follow when you have been in such an unfortunate situation:

1. Your health – Above all else, make sure you get the care you need following such an accident. Although you may not think you have any injuries, it does not hurt to be safe and get looked at. Doing so could reveal you have a concussion or even internal injuries. Once you get the medical clearance, the next focus turns to the accident itself.

2. Who hit you – Finding out the identity and location of the person who hit you is not always going to be easy. That said you want to do some digging to see if you can in fact find the perpetrator. Did you know the Internet could be a great resource for you in such a search? By going online and figuring out how to look up a license plate is a great start. With the right online tools, you could find out who the owner of the vehicle is and more. The key of course is that you or someone else at the scene got the license plate info of the other driver. If you have such info, go to work online. By finding the driver, you can hope to hold them responsible and may prevent them from doing it again. Speaking of who hit you, any chance they have done this before? From driving under the influence to reckless driving, there are some bad drivers. While most do not end up in accidents, some do. If there is a pattern of hit-and-runs here with the individual, authorities need to know this.

3. Did your vehicle hold up? – Finally, how good of a job did your vehicle do holding up in the accident? While some vehicles sustain little or no damage, others are not so lucky. If your car or truck did not do a good job of taking a hit for you, it may be time to look elsewhere. If your vehicle has damage beyond repair, you have no choice. If it can be repaired, will you do repairs and trust the vehicle to protect you down the road? If you have concerns, it may in fact be time to go shopping for another vehicle sooner than later.

When you’ve been in a hit-and-run, do all you can to find out who did it.

Although you may go through your driving years without a hit-and-run, odds are you could be next.