First thing to do is move the car off the road. You do not have to leave the cars where they are until the police arrive. In fact - if there is no injury there is no need to inform the police. If you leave your car on the road and it is hit again (or someone else has a crash because of your car) you will be liable for that accident.
Phone the emergency number the care hire company gives you. They will have an English speaker there to help with the next process.
In the glove compartment of the car there will be a folder. In the folder there should be an accident report form. There is a copy here http://www.ericblairnet.com/useful.html . It has to be filled in by both parties, signed and dated. Your insurance details are on the little green slip in the holder on the windscreen. The most important section is the one where you tick the boxes to say what happened. Although it is not a legally binding document, try admit to nothing.
The hire company will offer to send a mechanic out. Unless you think this is necessary, dont bother. You will need to take the car back to an agency to have it exchanged, the person on the help line will arrange this and tell you when and where.
More details are here …angloinfo.com/countries/france/accident.asp
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Is this the voice of (recent) experience? Is everyone OK?
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Diz I%26#39;ve been dying to know that all day!
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I agree - pay no attention to the rental car materials that state that a police report is neceassary - the police simply will not come if there is no injury.
I will add that the description of the accident is important and it is possible to use the language barrier to muddy the waters pretty significantly in this area. There is also a place where you each may draw a picture of what happened, which can provide several minutes of entertainment and lively discussion.
Also, if you are from the US and you used a VISA card to pay for the entire rental, and you did NOT take the extra insurance, VISA has a pretty good insurance cover that applies, and also good adjusters that are responsive.
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It is a result of recent experience. Weekend before last (the 15th to be precise) I was driving away from Tours when the woman driving towards me turned her steering wheel and plowed straight on into the side of my hire car, bounced off me and hit the car behind me.
All are OK, though i did have a fizzy fit and had to sit down and let Mrs Wiz deal with thepaperwork - I could hear the words, but they werent making any sense - even tho everyone involved in the accident spoke English.
It was an interesting introduction into how civilised French drivers can be - but usually arent ;)
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Dear Wiz
Sorry to hear that but glad that you are all OK. I have to smile, when we lived in Paris, long long ago before the blessed GPS, Tours was my bete noir. Try as I might I always got lost in that town. Actually I put it down to DH questioning every turn I said to take. Needless to say I now avoid the place.
Thanks for all the tips.
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Jbart
My problem is that the Mappy directions for leaving Tours give directions down to the last centimetre....excluding the really big ones like %26quot;turn left when you leave the motorway%26quot;
Still - it was fun for my passengers (uncle and aunt) who are very East End London and not at all sure about the French. Or me , now they have seen me do my rag at Mrs Wiz for not reading between the lines...........
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Thanks Wiz it%26#39;s so nice to know that some things never change in this world. As you are all OK and as you have now got over your fizzy fit and can see the funny side I can now admit this has brighten my day. Obviously Tours still wins. I%26#39;ll let you know when I am prepared to tackle that place again. Meanwhile onward and upward you have a restoration to do.
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Glad to know you%26#39;re Ok - and commiserations to you all, particularly Mrs Wiz. If there%26#39;s anything worse than driving in France, it%26#39;s being a passenger ;-)
We%26#39;re going to France in a couple of weeks and will have a hire car - I%26#39;d better print off this post so that I feel prepared for the worst. As a passenger, any hints and tips about dealing with fizzy fits would be welcome .....
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Wiz -
Happy to hear you came out of it with an absence of scathe. I understand immediate application of Vieille Prune taken internally and *very* pink magret de canard (the only way I eat it) applied to any bruised areas or eaten with a good glass of Burgundy if it is only the ego that has suffered will take care of fizzy fits.
Nil desperandum et per ardua ad infernum locum, old bean!
Pip! Pip!
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Diz
Let the hire firm take the strain- You wont have a prang (thats one for the irish guy!) but if anything happens, ring the emergency number and do it by numbers - they will tell you all you need know, and if there are any problems pass the phone over and they will deal with the French persons too.
Irish. I forwent (is that a word) my usual after dinner calvados for a Remy - was that evil?? I also had 2 aperatifs (the first was medicinal, it%26#39;s OK) I didnt need duck - I had home made terrine. A good night was had by all - particularly Mrs Wiz who had to put up with
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