Stop, secure, call — Trafikbrottslagen §5
Traffic accidents create both immediate danger and legal responsibility. After a crash the priorities are to stop, secure the scene, help the injured and call emergency services if needed. Leaving the scene without stopping and providing details is a crime — Trafikbrottslagen §5 requires you to stop regardless of who was at fault. Calm under stress saves more lives than fast reaction.
Three steps after an accident: 1) Stop immediately, turn on hazard lights. 2) Place the warning triangle 50–100 metres behind on an urban road, 100–150 metres on a country road, further on a motorway. 3) Call 112 for injury, fire, blocked road or suspected drunk driving. Trafikbrottslagen §5 requires you to stop and provide details — name, address, insurance — even if the other party doesn't ask.
You've lightly run into the car in front during a brake. Nobody seems hurt, but her tailgate is dented. What do you do? Stop immediately, turn on hazard lights. Place the warning triangle about 100 metres behind on the country road. Exchange name, phone, insurance company and registration number. Photograph the scene if you can. Call 112 if anyone reports pain, even mild. 'It seems minor' is not your judgment to make.
A classic exam trap is the scenario where the driver leaves the scene 'to get help'. That's wrong. Stay put and call 112 from the scene. Leaving the accident scene without valid reason is hit-and-run under Trafikbrottslagen §5 and can carry prison, even when the accident wasn't your fault. The only exception is acute danger — then a short move to a safe spot, not a departure.