New WreckCheck Mobile App: Do We Really Need an App for That?

By Julie Griffin
Contributing Writer

The new WreckCheck app represents the superfluity of mobile apps today. This isn’t an app that directs you away from traffic accumulated after a car wreck, nor is this an app that connects you to emergency dispatch. This app is a step-by-step guide that walks you through the information exchange process after a fender bender. This is one app that you hope “many Americans” would find a bit unnecessary.

However, the justification for this app was based on some statistic that claims that “many Americans” do not know how to exchange information after a collision— which leaves them vulnerable to identity theft as well as other unsafe situations.

Since the steps listed in the press announcement by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) contain nothing outside of the perimeters of common sense, one can only hope that these “many Americans” do not have driver’s licenses.

But since common sense is a fundamental part of driver safety, this app was perhaps designed for the same people who are the most likely to wreck.

Fortunately, for these special drivers, the NAIC provides them with the special tools they need. They can use these tools to “eliminate the guesswork” from what to do after their inevitable accident. Also fortunately, the app is free. However, these drivers could also spare themselves the mobile data crunch and read this:

• Do put down your iPhone (News - Alert) and drive or pull before you read/download anything.
• Don’t give the other driver your driver’s license – unless the other driver is a cop. Civilians don’t need this information.
• Don’t give the other driver your home address. Why would you do this? According to the NAIC’s research, 25 percent think this is necessary.
• Don’t give the other driver your phone number unless you find him/her attractive.
• Do call the police in order to “facilitate the insurance claims policy".
• Do stay calm.

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