After a car accident in Switzerland: first steps, police, insurance

Last checked: 11 Oct 2026. Unofficial student guide, not EPFL or government advice: confirm on the linked official pages before you act. Unfamiliar abbreviation? See the Glossary.

What to do in the first minutes after a road accident in Vaud, when you must call the police, how to fill in the European accident report, and what to tell your insurer. Emergency numbers are on Emergency contacts.

Key facts

• Stop and secure the scene: everyone involved must stop immediately and make the road as safe as possible (LCR art. 51).
• Injuries = police: if anyone is hurt, help them and call the police (LCR art. 51 al. 2). Do not use the European accident report in that case (Police cantonale vaudoise).
• Damage only: tell the person whose property you damaged your name and address straight away. If you cannot (for example a parked car with nobody around), inform the police without delay (LCR art. 51 al. 3).
• Liability insurance is compulsory: no motor vehicle may be driven on public roads without liability insurance (assurance responsabilité civile, RC véhicule) (LCR art. 63; vd.ch).
• Wild animal hit: in Vaud, every accident involving a wild bird or mammal must be reported immediately to the police or the wildlife police (DGE directive).

1. Secure the scene

From the Vaud cantonal police (Police cantonale vaudoise):

• Turn on your hazard lights and place the warning triangle 50 to 100 m before the accident to avoid a pile-up.
• Do not stop or park near the accident just to watch.
• If the police are coming, do not move anything before they arrive. Mark where the vehicles are and note as many details as you can.
• On the motorway: move vehicles that can still drive onto the emergency lane, do not stay inside or next to them, get behind the crash barrier and call the police from an emergency phone or your mobile. Give the kilometre number on the small white markers on the right side.

2. When the police must be called

People involved, including passengers, must help reconstruct what happened and may not leave without police permission, except to get help (LCR art. 51 al. 2). Paying a fine you receive afterwards: see Fines and tickets in Vaud. For a police report or complaint afterwards, see Police reports and complaints.

3. The European accident report (constat européen d'accident)

For damage-only accidents, both drivers fill in one shared form. Insurers give it out free; keep one in the glove box (Police cantonale vaudoise).

• Fill in your own details (insured person, vehicle, insurance company) in advance, so you can focus on the accident itself.
• Stick to facts. Write any disagreement under "Observations" before you sign.
• The sketch matters: draw vehicles as rectangles, show directions with arrows and mark the first point of impact.
• Write down witnesses' details precisely.
• Do not sign a blank report, let the other driver fill in your part, or sign a written admission of fault. Changes made after the two copies are separated have no value.
• In Vaud, the police note that your signature confirms the facts written on the form.
• If someone is injured, call the police and do not use the report.

4. Insurance

• Liability insurance (RC véhicule): compulsory. You need a valid RC certificate to get plates. The insurer issues that certificate for the SAN and must itself tell the SAN if your cover is suspended or ends (LCR art. 68). If you change insurer, announcing the change to the SAN within 14 days is your responsibility as the vehicle holder: ask the new insurer for an electronic certificate, then send the SAN your vehicle registration document (permis de circulation) (vd.ch). Registration is covered in Car registration (SAN).
• Partial or full casco (casco partielle / casco complète): optional cover for your own vehicle. The law only requires liability insurance (LCR art. 63). To verify: what your casco covers (theft, glass, animals, collision) depends on your policy.
• Report to your insurer: once the European accident report is filled in, send a copy to your insurance immediately (Police cantonale vaudoise). To verify: the exact notification deadline is set in your policy's general terms.
• Other driver unknown or uninsured: the National Guarantee Fund (Fonds national de garantie) covers injury and property damage caused in Switzerland by an unidentified or uninsured motor vehicle. It pays only what your own insurances (for example accident, health or casco) do not cover. If the vehicle is unknown, you bear the first CHF 1,000 of property damage, unless the same accident also caused serious injuries. Report the accident to the Fund without delay and show that a police report was made (LCR art. 76; OAV art. 52).
• Injured? Medical costs go through your accident insurance: see Student accident insurance.

5. Hitting a wild animal

• In Vaud, any accident involving a wild bird or mammal must be reported immediately to the gendarmerie, the police, or a wildlife police officer (police faune-nature) of the DGE (DGE directive, art. 2). The duty comes from the Vaud wildlife law: whoever injures or kills game or a protected mammal or bird, even by accident, must report it to the nearest gendarmerie or police station or a wildlife officer (LFaune art. 18 para. 1, BLV 922.03).
• Seriously injured animals are put down by a wildlife officer or the gendarmerie. Do not approach or handle the animal yourself. To verify: this safety tip is not stated on an official page.
• The police then write a short report (DGE directive, art. 5). To verify: whether your insurer requires this report for a casco claim.
• Call 117 (police). Driving in snow and ice: see Winter driving: tyres and chains.