If you decide to live in Portugal and drive there you may be faced with a road accident. Whether you are a victim or a spectator, there are rules and procedures to follow in the event of a traffic accident in order to not aggravate the situation and especially to be in good position with your insurer. What to do in case of road accident in Portugal? What is the correct procedure for insurance? Lisbob, the Expats Personal Assistant in Lisbon and Portugal tells you everything.
What to do in case of road accident in Portugal ?
Road safety in Portugal
Since the end of the last century Portugal has made enormous progress on the subject of road safety. In fact, Portugal was a country with a very high ratio of fatalities per inhabitant. The Portuguese State has taken measures to improve this situation: awareness campaigns on road safety, improvement of the existing network, tightening of controls and penalties and increase of verbalizations. Despite all the improvements and the driver's attention, no one is immune to an incident. Since prevention is better than cure, Bob gives you some tips on what to do in the event of a road accident in Portugal.
Keep calm and secure people
A road accident is necessarily shocking, so it is essential to keep calm and act thoughtfully so that help is organized quickly and efficiently:
• Activate the vehicle's hazard warning lights, switch off the ignition and apply the parking brake as far as it will go,
• Put on your self-reflective vest and make sure your passengers do it too,
• Evacuate the vehicle on the right side and keep everyone as far away from the road as possible; If you are on the highway go behind the security fence,
• Pave the warning triangle at least 30 meters before the accident site; at night, you can also light the scene with an electric lamp. You must be visible without taking unnecessary risks!
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Alert the authorities in the most detailed way possible
To contact the emergency services, preferably use the emergency call stations. If you use your mobile phone you must contact 112 (European number).
Describe as precisely as possible the location and circumstances of the accident, the number and condition of the injured and the type and number of vehicles involved in the accident. The emergencies were contacted? You must now contact your insurance, at the number communicated to you with your contract.
Contact your insurance
In the event of a road accident in Portugal, it is necessary to fill the "Declaração Amigável de Acidente Automóvel" (DAAA), the equivalent of the amicable report.
According to the instructions of the "Instituto de Seguros de Portugal", the DAAA must expressly mention complete and detailed information on the identity of drivers, vehicles, insurance and also possible witnesses. You can find the names of insurance companies and font numbers on the sticker affixed to the windshield. Each driver must keep a copy of the DAAA that will be given to his insurer to initiate the procedures.
It is recommended to photograph the accident site, vehicles and damage. An amicable finding is obviously the best solution, but sometimes drivers can not come to an agreement. In this case, each driver must complete the declaration on his side and give a copy to the insurer of the other party. You will not have any other solution than to call the police in case of dispute or categorical refusal of the other driver to complete the DAAA. In the case where one or more of the drivers does not have an available form, the declaration may be made on any piece of paper (it must of course be signed by all parties involved).
If there are witnesses, carefully note their names and full contact information. If the driver has no insurance (which is illegal), write down the registration number of his vehicle and immediately forward it to the police and your insurer who will take the action. Finally, send the insurance claim to your insurer as soon as possible! Indeed deadlines are respected to be compensated to the maximum.
As you will have understood in Portugal, the procedures are very similar to those that can be found in other European countries. The most important thing is to have your vest self-reflective, insurance to date and especially to know how to keep calm.
