Do I have to call the police after an accident?
Legally, no – not even where someone is injured, which surprises many people. § 34 StVO requires you to stop, secure the traffic, help anyone injured and enable the facts to be established; the police appear there only as an alternative for the case that you drive on after waiting an appropriate time and report your involvement “at least to the persons entitled … or to a nearby police station”. Where someone is injured, however, you must get help regardless – that follows from § 323c StGB, and the number to call is 112. And in practice the police are indispensable in many situations: in a dispute about what happened, where alcohol is suspected, in a hit-and-run, and where the other party is uncooperative.
How long do I have to wait at the scene?
The law does not say. § 142 StGB requires waiting “a period appropriate to the circumstances” – no figure in minutes appears there, and any specific figure you read anywhere is an estimate drawn from case law on a particular case. What matters is the circumstances: time of day, location, the amount of damage, and the likelihood that someone will come back. A different standard applies at night in an empty car park than at midday outside a supermarket, and a high amount of damage calls for a longer wait than a scratch. If in doubt, wait longer and then report it to the nearest police station afterwards – that is the safe approach.
Does a note on the windscreen suffice?
No, and this is one of the most costly misconceptions on the roads. A note does not satisfy the duties under § 142 StGB: it can blow away, be removed, or become illegible, and no one can verify that it was ever there at all. What is correct is to wait a reasonable time and, if no one comes, to enable the facts to be established afterwards without delay – at the nearest police station. You may leave the note in addition, but it is no substitute. There is, however, a lifeline: the 24-hour rule in subsection 4.
I drove off after causing parking damage — is it too late?
Possibly not. § 142 Abs. 4 StGB provides that the court reduces the sentence, or may waive it, if the person involved in the accident, within twenty-four hours of an accident outside moving traffic resulting in exclusively insignificant property damage, voluntarily enables the facts to be established afterwards. The typical case is exactly yours: a car park or parking space. The three requirements matter – stationary traffic, minor damage, and voluntariness – and “voluntary” means: before an investigation reaches you regardless. So contact the nearest police station without delay; whether the requirements are met in your particular case is ultimately for the court to decide.
What counts as “insignificant” property damage?
There is no fixed statutory limit – the law uses the term without putting a figure on it. The courts draw the line differently, and the figures mentioned have moved upward over the years; a generally valid figure therefore cannot responsibly be given, and you should not rely on any figure you read anywhere. In practice this means: do not rely on your damage still counting as minor. The safe course is to enable the facts to be established rather than gambling that subsection 4 will apply.
What happens if the other side does not want the police?
Then you decide for yourself. No one can stop you calling the police, and in several situations you should do so: if the course of events is disputed, if the information given to you seems implausible, if there are signs of alcohol or drugs, if no valid driving licence is shown, or if a hire, company or foreign vehicle is involved. If you are actively pressured not to call the police, that alone is already a reason to do so. In every case, note down the licence plate before doing anything else – it is the one piece of information that cannot be disputed later.
Can I report the accident via the Online-Wache?
No – and the joint portal of the federal state police forces says so expressly: traffic accidents and offences with a complex set of facts should be reported directly at the nearest police station. The reason is obvious: an accident requires follow-up questions about how it happened, often a sketch, and sometimes an assessment of vehicles and marks. If you need help at the scene itself, 110 applies regardless, and 112 where someone is injured. The Online-Wache is expressly not suited to emergencies.
By when must I notify my insurer?
That follows from your contract, not from the law. Typical terms require notification “without delay” or within a week; the exact deadline and form are set out in your insurance terms, and that is where you should check rather than relying on a generally quoted figure. Report the accident to your own liability insurer even if you consider yourself not at fault – the notification is not an admission of fault, but failing to make it can be a breach of duty under the policy. Submit photos, the other party's details and, if available, the police file number.
