Emergency questions test order and purpose, not haste. First prevent a second collision, then call the right help, assist within safe limits and preserve the information needed after immediate danger has passed.
Use the protect, alert, assist sequence
A driver who knows that the vehicle caused or occasioned a crash must stop and must not leave to escape possible civil or criminal responsibility. Whether the vehicle can still move does not cancel that duty. At a scene with possible casualties, begin by protecting the area so traffic does not create more victims. Alert the emergency services next, then assist casualties without exposing yourself or others to avoidable danger. For a crash or injured person, 15 reaches SAMU, 18 reaches fire and rescue, 112 is the European emergency number, and 17 reaches police or gendarmerie for an urgent road accident. Service 114 provides app, web and SMS access for people who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing or aphasic.
| Situation | First legal or safety focus |
|---|---|
| Your vehicle was involved in a crash | Stop and remain accountable. |
| Possible casualties | Protect the scene, alert emergency services, then assist. |
| Accessible emergency contact is needed | Use service 114 through app, web or SMS. |
| Minor collision without injuries | Exchange and preserve the facts even if no paper friendly report is completed. |
| Breakdown endangers traffic | Make yourself visible, warn traffic and avoid placing equipment where doing so is dangerous. |
For a minor collision, the paper friendly report is useful and strongly advised, but French law does not make that paper form compulsory. If it is not used, record the drivers' identities and licence details, vehicle registrations, insurance information and the circumstances of the collision. For a dangerous breakdown, equipment and sequence work together. An ordinary car carries an approved warning triangle and a CE-marked high-visibility vest kept within reach. The driver puts on the vest before leaving the immobilised car, activates the hazard lights and normally positions the triangle at least 30 metres away. Safety overrides placement: do not walk into danger merely to set out the triangle.
Common confusions
- Driving away because the car remains usable. Mechanical condition does not remove the duty to stop after involvement in a crash.
- Starting hands-on assistance before controlling immediate danger or calling help. Follow protect, alert, then assist.
- Adding a first-aid kit or a full spare-bulb set to the mandatory pair for an ordinary car. The required pair here is the approved triangle and accessible CE-marked vest.
- Placing the triangle exactly 10 metres away or switching off hazard lights to save power. Use the lights and normally place the triangle at least 30 metres away, unless placement itself would be dangerous.
Try it
A deaf motorist needs emergency help after a crash and can use an application, website or SMS. Which emergency service number is designed for this access?
- 114
- 115
- 116
- 119
After a minor collision without injuries, both drivers ask whether a paper friendly accident report is legally compulsory. What is correct?
- It is compulsory only on motorways
- It is compulsory whenever two cars are involved
- It is recommended but not legally compulsory
- It is prohibited when nobody is injured