What to Do After a Traffic Accident in China
This is general information about the rules, not legal advice. Fault and compensation depend on the facts of each case.
Step 1: Stop, make the scene safe
The law requires the driver to stop at once and keep the scene intact. Turning on your hazard warning lights is standard practice. Minor accidents with no injuries are handled differently, see Step 3.
Step 2: If anyone is hurt
- Rescue the injured immediately.
- Report to the police. In China you can dial 122 to report a traffic accident (110 for police, 120 for an ambulance).
- If you must move things to rescue people, mark clearly where the original positions were.
Passengers, drivers of passing vehicles and pedestrians are expected to help.
Step 3: No injuries and the facts are not disputed
When a car and another vehicle collide and nobody is hurt, and the parties agree on the facts and cause, the regulations say to:
- Record the time, the place, the other party’s name and contact details, vehicle plate number, driver’s license number, insurance certificate number and the collision points.
- Sign the record together.
- Move the vehicles out of the way and settle compensation between yourselves.
Taking photos at the scene is sensible. If you disagree about what happened, call the police promptly.
Step 4: Damage to roads or utilities
If your accident damages roads, power or telecommunications facilities, you must report it and wait for handling. You must not drive away. If the vehicle can be moved, move it where it will not obstruct traffic.
Never leave the scene
A driver who flees after an accident bears all the responsibility, unless there is evidence that the other party was also at fault. Deliberately destroying or faking the scene or evidence also leads to full responsibility. The Beijing guidance for foreign license applicants also lists a license revoked for fleeing the scene of an accident as a bar to getting a new Chinese license.
What happens next
- The traffic police investigate the scene and issue a written accident determination stating the facts, the cause and each party’s responsibility. For accidents where the scene was examined, this is done within 10 days of the scene investigation. If testing is needed, it is done within 5 days of the test results.
- If there is a dispute about compensation, the parties may request mediation from the traffic police, or bring a civil suit. A written mediation request must be made within 10 days of receiving the accident determination.
- Medical institutions must rescue injured people without delay and cannot withhold treatment because fees have not yet been paid. Compulsory third-party liability insurance covers rescue costs within its limits.
Practical tips for foreigners
- Keep your passport or a copy, your Chinese driver’s license and the vehicle documents with you.
- Contact your embassy or consulate if you need consular assistance.
- Contact your insurer or rental company as soon as possible.
- If you have a language problem, ask the police for an interpreter. Do not sign documents you cannot read.
Practice
The mock exam has an “Emergencies” topic.
How responsibility is decided
The traffic police decide each party’s responsibility based on what each person did and how serious the fault was. In the written accident determination they set out the basic facts, the cause and each party’s responsibility.
- A driver who flees is responsible for the whole accident, unless there is evidence that the other side was also at fault. Destroying or forging the scene or evidence also leads to full responsibility.
- If a non-motor vehicle driver or a pedestrian deliberately causes the accident, the motorist is not liable. This principle comes from the English text of the law.
Insurance and rescue costs
- If your vehicle has compulsory third-party liability insurance and the accident requires emergency rescue of injured people, the police notify the insurer, who pays rescue costs within the policy limit.
- If rescue costs are beyond the limit, there is no insurance, or the vehicle fled, a social aid fund for road traffic accidents may pay part or all of the costs in advance and later recover them from the people responsible.
- Medical institutions must rescue injured people without delay and may not wait for payment.
Accidents involving other vehicles that are minor
For an accident between motor vehicles, or between a motor vehicle and a non-motor vehicle, with no injuries and no dispute, the parties record the facts, sign together and leave the scene. For accidents between non-motor vehicles or pedestrians with no injuries and clear facts, the parties first leave the scene and then settle compensation.
Accidents outside roads and with trains
An accident that happens off the road, for example in a car park, is handled with reference to the Road Traffic Safety Law and the Implementing Regulations if the police receive a report. Accidents involving a train or at a ferry crossing follow separate national rules.
What to take with you
Having these ready makes the process easier:
- Your passport or a copy, and your Chinese driver’s license or temporary permit with your foreign license and translation.
- The vehicle registration (driving) license and insurance certificate. If the car is rented, the rental contract.
- A phone to take photos of the scene, the vehicles, the license plates and the road.
- The other driver’s name, phone number, vehicle plate number, driver’s license number and insurance certificate number.
Common mistakes
- Moving vehicles before taking photos when someone is hurt or the facts are in dispute.
- Agreeing to a private settlement without writing it down and having both sides sign.
- Leaving the scene to “find a better place” without telling the police.
- Not reporting to the rental company or your own insurer.