What to do after a car accident in Ireland: a step-by-step checklist

What to do after a car accident: the first five minutes

In the first few minutes, the order matters. People, then the road, then the paperwork.

1. Stop. You must stop and stay at the scene for a reasonable time. Driving on, even from a minor bump, is an offence.
2. Check for injuries. If anyone is hurt, or might be, ring 112 or 999 and ask for an ambulance and the Gardai. You have a duty to offer help to anyone who is injured.
3. Make the scene safe. Hazard lights on. On an ordinary road, if it is safe, put a warning triangle well back. On the M9 or any motorway, do not use a triangle and do not stand in a live lane. Get everyone behind the barrier.
4. If the cars are blocking the road or endangering other traffic, mark the spot if you can and move them as soon as it is safe, unless someone is injured, in which case leave everything where it is until the Gardai say otherwise.

Exchange details after an accident

Your legal duty, in general terms, is to give your name and address, the address where the vehicle is kept, the registered owner's details, the registration number and evidence of insurance to a Garda if one is present. If there is no Garda, you must give those details to anyone else involved, and to an independent witness if asked.

Get the same from the other driver. Photograph their licence and insurance disc rather than writing it down, because people make mistakes under stress. Take the name of their insurer and the policy number if they have it. If the other driver refuses to give details, do not argue, just ring the Gardai.

When you must report the accident to the Gardai

The general rule from Garda guidance is this. If anyone is injured and no Garda attended, the collision must be reported at the nearest Garda station. If it is damage only and no Garda was there, you give your details to the owner of the damaged property, and if that is not possible you report at a Garda station as soon as reasonably possible. Leaving the scene of an injury collision to avoid liability is a serious criminal offence with heavy penalties.

Not every minor shunt needs a Garda at the scene. But if there is any injury, any dispute about what happened, a driver who will not give details, a suspicion of drink or drugs, or a vehicle that cannot be moved and is blocking the road, ring them. Note the time, the station and the name of the Garda you spoke to.

Photos, witnesses and dashcam

Evidence gathered in the first ten minutes is worth more than anything you can reconstruct later.

• Photograph everything before anything moves: positions of the cars, damage on all vehicles, number plates, skid marks, road signs, the junction, the weather and the light.
• Take a short video walking around the scene. It captures things you will not think to photograph.
• Ask any witnesses for a name and phone number. Independent witnesses are the single most valuable thing in a disputed claim.
• If you have a dashcam, save the clip now so it is not overwritten. Ask any other driver with a dashcam, including bus and lorry drivers, to do the same.
• Write down what happened while it is fresh, including your speed, the time and what the other driver said. Do not admit fault at the scene. Stick to facts.

Tell your insurer, even if you are not claiming

Ring your insurer as soon as you can. Most policies require prompt notice and some set a short window. Report it even if the damage is minor and you have agreed to sort it privately, because the other driver can change their mind, or a passenger can make an injury claim months later. Give them the facts, the other driver's details and the photos, and ask them where they want the car brought if it cannot be driven.

Who pays for recovery and storage after an accident

Someone has to order the truck, and that person pays the operator. In practice it works out like this. If the Gardai attend and the car is blocking the road, they may call a truck from their own list and the owner is billed. If you ring a truck yourself, you pay and claim it back. Unlike an ordinary breakdown, where insurer cover usually only pays if you went through their own assistance line, insurers generally do cover reasonable recovery and storage after an insured collision as part of the claim. If the other driver was at fault, recovery and storage are usually recovered from their insurer as part of your claim.

Storage is the bit that gets expensive. A car recovered at night to a yard with no instruction from an insurer can sit for days at a daily rate while assessors are organised. Tell your insurer where the car is the same day, and ask them where they want it. Keep every receipt.

Choosing your own repairer

Most insurers have an approved repairer network and may offer things like a courtesy car or a guarantee on the work if you use it. Many policies also allow you to use your own repairer, sometimes subject to the insurer's assessor agreeing the estimate. Read your policy or ask. If you want the car brought to Webster's Garage in Three Castles, or to any garage you trust, say so when you ring for recovery so it goes there directly rather than to a yard and then on again.

What the recovery truck does at the scene, and M9 specifics

When Kilkenny Recovery Truck arrives at an accident, the first job is to make sure nobody is in a live lane and the scene is safe. Then we look at the car. A car with a bent wheel, deployed airbags, a leaking radiator or steering damage is not driven onto the truck. It is winched or lifted on skates onto the flatbed. We never tow a crashed car on a rope or a spec lift, because you have no idea what is bent underneath.

On the M9, the Gardai and the motorway maintenance crews will want the road cleared quickly. We bring the car off at the next junction and reassess there. Note your junction and direction when you ring 087 288 2280: for example, southbound between Junction 8 Kilkenny North and Junction 9 Danesfort, or northbound past Junction 10 Knocktopher. If the cars are in a live lane or anyone is hurt, ring 112 or 999 first. The Motorway Traffic Control Centre on 0818 715 100 can also be told about an obstruction on the motorway. On the Kilkenny ring road, say which roundabout you are near, such as the Hebron Road roundabout, and which direction you were heading. Accident recovery in Kilkenny city is usually 20 to 30 minutes from the call.