Accidents happen all the time, particularly road accidents. In the UAE, it’s common to encounter road accidents. Some of it you will hear from the news but you might encounter it yourself especially if you are driving your own car to work, to home, or to your tourist trip.
Also Read: 10 Things to Know Before Working in the United Arab Emirates
Just in case you are caught up with it, you should be aware that there is a way to report road accidents in the country. This blog is helpful especially if you experience it while you are in Dubai since the Dubai Police is the first agency you need to contact. Read on to know more.
How to report a road accident in the UAE?
In case you catch yourself into any unforeseen incident on the road, please follow the steps in order to report it properly.
1. Keep calm and don’t panic.
Keep yourself calm during a road accident. There’s no need to panic especially if it doesn’t involve death or injury. You and the other party involved should park your cars at the side of the street to avoid blocking other cars—this is only applicable for accidents without injuries and death.
If the car accident is major, you are advised to stay where you are. Don’t move your car. Do the next steps below.
2. Know what type of accident it is.
The reporting doesn’t depend on how big or small the accident is. As long as it is a road accident, you need to let someone know right away. If you want to know what type of accident you are in, here are some of the examples:
Minor car accidents – even if it’s just a scratch on your car or someone hit your side mirror, you need to report the incident immediately. The reason for this is that without a Dubai Police report, you will struggle with repairs later on. You need the report in order to contact your insurance.
Major car accidents – this involved collision, road accident injuries, death, and so on. You should be able to report it to the designated authority especially if there is a life and death situation.
Accidents when no one is involved – if the road accident only involves you, your car, or another car, you still need to report it to get a Dubai Police report.
Someone hit your car while it is parked – if your car is parked and someone hit it, it’s still mandatory to report it to Dubai Police. You can call the police department to assess the damage and you will be issued a damage report for a fee of AED 50.
3. Call the police department.
Now that you know what type of accident it is, the next step is calling the Dubai Police department at 999. If it’s needed, request an ambulance. The police department will send traffic police to assist you initially after you make a call. Calling the Dubai Police will help both parties investigate who is to blame in the accident.
Another alternative to report the accident is to go to any ADNOC petrol stations. There are a couple of stations in Dubai such as in Sheikh Zayed Road, Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, and Al Khail Road. This is best done if there are no people injured and the vehicles are safe to drive.
Minor accidents can also be reported online. There’s a so-called Dubai Police App that can be downloaded whether your smartphone is an iOS or Android. If the accident involves 2 to 5 vehicles, you can use the application smartly. To utilize it, here’s what you need to do:
- Download the application from your play store or app store.
- Open the application and go to “Report Traffic Accident” service located on the home page.
- Input the number of cars involved in the road accident.
- Scan each car plate number.
- Make sure to fill out the car details including the license number of the driver and the plate number.
- Capture a photo of the damage using the application.
- Choose whether the damage is for the affected driver or the driver responsible for the accident.
- Input your contact details including your email address and mobile number.
4. Wait for the police accident report.
When you report to Dubai Police, make sure to obtain the police accident report. This is the most important part since you will need the document to repair your vehicles. Without your police report, getting your repairs in the country is considered illegal. Plus, your insurance company will only cover the damages done to you and to the other party if there’s a police record.
If the police department goes to the accident site, they will help determine whose fault the accident is. There will be two forms of police reports: green form for the affected driver and pink form for the party liable. In case the police determine that no one is at fault, both of the parties will get white forms.
If you report the accident online, you will receive the police report online within 24 hours. You will receive a text containing the link for the report.
5. Bring the report to your insurance company.
Since you have car insurance for sure, you don’t need to cover the cost of damages or repair. After receiving the police accident report, what you need to do is to bring it to your insurance company. You have to let them know that you got into an accident and you have notified the police about it. Once they see the report, you will get a separate set of instructions to avail of your insurance coverage.
If the damage of your car is big and you can’t drive it anymore after the accident, your insurance company might send a recovery truck to get and fix it. But if that’s not included in your coverage, they might call another company to pick up your car.
Final Thoughts
Don’t be scared to report any road accident in any part of the UAE. It’s mandatory and you will be able to save yourself from a lot of trouble when you do it. Ensure that your co-expats know the steps. Share this with them!