What to do after a car accident in Europe: a step-by-step checklist
Stay safe, call 112 when it's needed, exchange details and fill in the European accident statement. Here is what to do, in order, in the minutes and days after a crash anywhere in Europe.
A crash is stressful, even a small one. The good news is that across Europe the steps are broadly the same, and most of them take only a few minutes. This checklist follows them in the order you'll need them.
1. Stop, and make the scene safe
Stop as soon as it is safe to do so. Driving away from an accident without leaving your details is punished across Europe, and in many countries it is a criminal offence (Fahrerflucht in Germany, délit de fuite in France), even for a scratch on a parked car. If anyone is hurt, leaving is a crime everywhere.
- Switch on your hazard lights. On a motorway, if the cars can still move and nobody is hurt, move onto the hard shoulder or emergency lane.
- Put on your high-visibility vest before you get out. Carrying one is compulsory in many European countries, France, Italy and Germany among them, and wearing it when you step onto the road is what keeps you visible.
- Warn traffic behind you. Place your warning triangle well behind the cars, further on fast roads. The exact distance depends on the country. Spain has replaced the triangle with a connected V-16 flashing beacon, placed on the roof, since 1 January 2026.
- Get everyone behind the barrier if you are on a motorway or fast road. Waiting inside a stopped car in a live lane is dangerous.
Rules on vests, triangles and distances differ from one country to the next. Before a road trip, check the list of compulsory equipment for each country you'll drive through.
2. Call 112 if anyone is hurt or the situation calls for it
112 is the free emergency number in every EU country, and it works from any phone, with a foreign SIM card and often without credit. Call it straight away if:
- anyone is injured, even slightly, or feels unwell;
- a vehicle is blocking the road or is a danger (fire, leaking fuel);
- the other driver refuses to give their details, seems drunk or drugged, or tries to leave;
- you suspect the other vehicle is uninsured or its plates don't match;
- public property is damaged (a crash barrier, a traffic light, a sign).
Some countries recommend calling the police more widely. German consumer guidance, for instance, suggests calling them whenever a foreign vehicle is involved, because a police report helps with an international claim. If nobody is injured and both drivers agree on what happened, you can usually settle it between yourselves with the accident statement, without the police.
3. Collect the facts while you are still there
Memory fades fast, and the other driver will have left in twenty minutes. Before anything is moved, if it is safe:
- Take photos: both cars as a whole, the damage up close, the number plates, the position of the cars on the road, skid marks, road signs and traffic lights, and the surroundings.
- Note the exact place and time. A street name and house number, a motorway kilometre marker, or the GPS position from your phone.
- Ask witnesses for their name and phone number. Someone who saw the crash is precious if the other driver later tells a different story.
4. Exchange details and fill in the European accident statement
Across Europe, drivers record a crash on the same standard form, the European accident statement (constat amiable in France, Europäischer Unfallbericht in Germany, parte amistoso in Spain). It has the same layout and the same numbered boxes in every language, so two drivers from different countries can fill it in together.
You'll need, from the other driver: their name and address, their driving licence, the vehicle's registration, and their insurance company with the policy number. All of it fits on the form.
The form is not an admission of liability. It records who was involved and what happened, and the insurers then decide who pays, partly on the boxes ticked. That is why it is worth filling in carefully: our guide on how to fill out a European accident report goes through it box by box, and how to draw the accident sketch covers the drawing.
Three rules matter most:
- Only sign what you agree with. If you disagree with the other driver's account, write it in "My remarks" rather than giving in.
- Never change the form after it has been signed. A change made by one driver alone makes it unreliable. If something is wrong, fill in a new one together.
- Each driver keeps a copy, signed by both.
If the other driver refuses to fill in the form, write down their number plate and everything you can see, take photos, and call the police.
5. Tell your insurer quickly
Send the statement to your insurer as soon as you can. The deadline is short and set by law or by your contract: in France, for example, it is 5 working days from the accident. Add your photos and the witnesses' details.
Your insurer handles the claim from there, including with the other driver's insurer. If you were not at fault, you normally don't deal with the other insurance company yourself.
6. Don't ignore your health
After a crash, adrenaline can mask pain. Neck pain from whiplash, for example, often shows up hours or a day later. See a doctor if anything hurts, and keep the medical certificate: an injury declared late is harder to have recognised.
If the accident happened abroad
The steps on the spot are the same, and the European accident statement is accepted in every country. What changes is what happens next: which law applies, and where you make your claim. You can usually claim from home, in your own language. See what happens if you have a car accident abroad.
Quick checklist
- Hazard lights, vest on, triangle (or V-16 beacon in Spain) placed.
- 112 if anyone is hurt, or if the other driver is hostile, drunk or uninsured.
- Photos, exact place and time, witnesses.
- European accident statement filled in and signed by both drivers, one copy each.
- Statement sent to your insurer within the deadline (5 working days in France).
- Doctor if anything hurts.
Sources
- What to do if you get into a car accident in Europe, Stars and Stripes
- Car accident in Germany or in another EU country: what to do?, European Consumer Centre Germany
- What to do after a car accident in Spain, Caser Expat Insurance
- Compulsory equipment when driving in Europe, Start Rescue
- Car insurance cover abroad, Your Europe (European Union)
- Constat amiable : délai, obligation et procédure, CommentCaMarche