After a crash — what the law requires
| What the law requires | Where it goes wrong | What you do | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leaving the scene | Forbidden where there is death, injury AND damage to another. Three separate grounds; for each: did he know, or should he reasonably have suspected it. | Thinking only injury counts. Sub b mentions damage alone: a clipped mirror in a car park already falls under it. | Stop and stay — even with only paintwork damage and even if the other party is absent. |
| When you may leave after all | Only someone who has PROPERLY given the opportunity on the spot to establish their identity and that of the vehicle falls outside sub a and b. | Treating a note under the wiper as enough. “Properly giving the opportunity” is more than a slip that can blow away; and sub c (helpless state) always keeps applying. | Leave your details in a way that holds up — call, wait or go via the police, not just a note. |
| Warning triangle | Required as soon as the stationary vehicle forms an obstacle approaching drivers cannot notice in time. At about 30 metres, clearly visible, facing the traffic it endangers. | Always placing it, or never. The criterion is visibility, not how bad the breakdown is; on a bend or crest it must go further back than the measured 30 metres suggests. | Place the triangle before doing anything else — it protects you while you deal with the rest. |
| Hazard lights instead of the triangle | With hazard warning lights on, the duty to place the warning triangle falls away. | Turning the exception into a recommendation. It is lawful, but in thick fog or behind a bend hazard lights are less visible than a triangle placed 30 metres earlier. | Hazard lights on, and in fog or on a bend the triangle as well — the law permits it, the situation decides. |
| Stopping and showing documents | On the FIRST demand of an authorised officer the driver must stop and hand over the documents properly for inspection. | Thinking you may first ask why. “On the first demand” leaves no room to negotiate; the question about the reason comes after stopping. | Stop on the first demand and hand over the documents; asking why comes afterwards. |
| The other party drove off | The injured party may then turn to the Guarantee Fund — UNLESS it is plausible that they themselves did not do what could reasonably be expected to identify the driver. | Driving off and reporting later. The exception is written exactly for that: noting the plate, asking witnesses and reporting are part of “what could reasonably be expected”. | Note the plate, speak to witnesses and report it — that is exactly what “reasonably expected” means. |
The law itself
WVW1994 art. 7 lid 1WVW1994 art. 7 lid 2WVW1994 art. 160 lid 1RVV1990 art. 58 lid 1RVV1990 art. 58 lid 2RVV1990 art. 58 lid 3WAM art. 25 lid 1
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