Accidents, First Aid and Reporting Obligations
Duties at the scene
After any accident causing injury or damage, the driver must stop immediately, prevent further danger (hazard lamps, warning triangle, moving vehicles clear if safe), assist the injured, and report to police. Leaving the scene is a serious offence even where only property is damaged.
First aid
Call 119 and 110. Check responsiveness and breathing, control bleeding with direct pressure, keep the casualty warm, and do not move someone with a suspected spinal injury unless there is immediate danger. If breathing has stopped, begin chest compressions.
Reporting
Report time, place, parties, injuries and damage; exchange details; notify the insurer and the operator. For a company vehicle, internal reporting and retention of tachograph or drive-recorder data matter as much as the police report.
Worked example
A truck clips a parked car and breaks a wing mirror; nobody is hurt. This is still a traffic accident: the driver must stop, report to police, and leave contact details. Reason: "no injury" does not remove the reporting duty, and driving on turns the case into a hit-and-run.
Traps
Settling privately without police; moving an injured person first; forgetting to record the other party's insurer; assuming a minor scrape need not be reported.