What to do after a minor car accident (UK)

A slow-speed shunt at a junction or a scrape in a queue of traffic can feel like nothing, but there is no such thing in law as a collision too minor to matter. If you are involved in a collision that causes damage or injury to another person, vehicle, animal or property, the same duties apply whether the damage is a scratched bumper or a smashed wing. This page sets out each step in order: stop, exchange details, record what happened, report to the police when required, and tell your insurer. The duties described here follow The Highway Code, which applies in England, Scotland and Wales; Northern Ireland has its own Highway Code, so drivers there should check that version.

Stop safely, even for a small bump

The first duty is to stop. If you are involved in a collision that causes damage or injury, you must stop, and if possible you should stop in a place of relative safety, somewhere you, your passengers and your vehicle are less at risk from moving traffic. Switch off the engine and switch on your hazard warning lights. Do not drive on, and do not leave because the damage looks small or the other driver says it does not matter. If anyone is injured, call 999 and give the location and details of any casualties. Do not move injured people from their vehicles unless they are in immediate danger, and do not remove a motorcyclist's helmet unless it is essential and you are trained to do so.

Exchange details at the scene

Once everyone is safe, exchange details. You must give your own and the vehicle owner's name and address, and the registration number of the vehicle, to anyone having reasonable grounds for requiring them. In practice, take the other driver's name and address, the registration number, make, model and colour of each vehicle, and the other driver's insurance details if they are offered. Note any witnesses' contact details, and photograph the damage, the vehicle positions and the road layout while the scene is fresh. Photographs and notes taken at the time beat memory a week later, when an insurer asks exactly what happened. Keep your account factual and stick to what you saw and did.

When you must report it to the police

Not every minor accident has to be reported to the police, but two situations trigger a reporting duty, and both have a 24-hour clock. First, if you do not give your name and address at the time of the collision, you must report it to the police as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case within 24 hours. Second, if another person is injured and you do not produce your insurance certificate at the time of the crash to a police officer or to anyone having reasonable grounds to request it, you must report the collision to the police as soon as possible and in any case within 24 hours, and produce your insurance certificate for the police within seven days. So a damage-only bump where details were exchanged and nobody was injured does not trigger these duties, but a bump where details were not exchanged, or where someone was injured and no certificate was produced, does.

Tell your insurer, even if you do not claim

Separately from any police report, tell your insurer about the collision. This is not one of the Highway Code's must-do rules, but it is a practical step your policy will expect: most policies require you to notify the insurer promptly after an accident, and your policy wording will set out how quickly. Tell them even if you do not intend to claim, because the other driver may claim later. Give the insurer the facts, the details you exchanged, any photographs and any witness details, and keep a copy of everything you send. A short note made on the day, with the date, time, place and a plain account, is worth keeping with the photographs.

If the other driver leaves the scene

Sometimes the other driver does not stop, or leaves before details are exchanged. Do not chase them. Note everything you can: the registration number if you saw it, the make, model and colour of the vehicle, the direction it went, and the time and place. Because details were not exchanged, the duty to report the collision to the police as soon as reasonably practicable and within 24 hours applies here too. Tell your insurer as well, with the same notes and photographs. Leaving the scene without stopping, or failing to report a collision when reporting is required, is an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988, section 170, as cited by the Highway Code. That is why the order matters: stop first, exchange details if you can, and report promptly if you cannot.

Minor damage, careful paperwork

A minor accident is mostly a paperwork exercise done well: stop, make the scene safe, exchange details, photograph what you can, report to the police within 24 hours if the rules require it, and tell your insurer promptly. None of it takes long at the roadside, and all of it protects you if the other driver's account later differs from yours. Keep the notes, photographs and any reference numbers together until the matter is fully closed.