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UAE Legal First-Aid · Traffic First Hour

You just had a road accident. Here is the first hour, in order.

Federal Traffic Law 21/1995 governs UAE roads; mandatory motor insurance is set under FDL 6/2007. The first hour determines whether your insurer pays, your fault classification, and any criminal exposure. Stay calm and follow the sequence.

Police: 999 Ambulance: 998 Print / Save as PDF

Last reviewed: 1 May 2026 · UAE-licensed counsel · Save this page offline before you need it.

1
الخطوة 1 — تحقق من الإصابات First 60 seconds

Check for injuries — yours, passengers, and the other party.

Life first. Call 998 for ambulance immediately if anyone is hurt, even if the injury seems minor — adrenaline masks pain in the first minutes. UAE hospitals must report any traffic-related injury to the police automatically.

Do notDo not move an injured person unless they are in immediate danger (fire, oncoming traffic). Spinal injury risk.
Ambulance: 998
2
الخطوة 2 — أمّن الموقع First 2 minutes

Move vehicles only if minor and safe to do so.

For minor accidents (no injury, no dispute, vehicles drivable), UAE rules now expect you to clear the lane to prevent secondary collisions. For any accident with injury, fatality, dispute, or where vehicles are not drivable, leave the scene exactly as is.

Do notDo not move vehicles in a major accident — police use scene geometry to assign fault. Moving cars can shift the colour code against you.
Hazard lights + warning triangle
3
الخطوة 3 — اتصل بالشرطة First 5 minutes

Call the police — 999 — for any accident worth reporting.

Call 999 for any accident with injury, dispute on fault, alleged drink/drug driving, or significant damage. Without an official police report, your insurer will not pay. The police will dispatch a patrol or direct you to the nearest accident centre.

Do notDo not skip the police step on the assumption that the other driver will "settle directly". Insurers require the colour-coded report.
Police: 999 · Dubai Police: 901
4
الخطوة 4 — صوّر كل شيء First 10 minutes

Photograph everything before vehicles move.

Wide shots of the scene, close-ups of damage, both number plates clearly visible, the road context (lane markings, signs, signals, weather, light), any skid marks, and any debris pattern. Multiple angles. These are your evidence if the colour coding is later disputed.

Do notDo not photograph injured people or first-responders' faces — UAE cybercrime law (FDL 34/2021) penalises images of identifiable persons without consent.
Use your phone in landscape, with location enabled
5
الخطوة 5 — تبادل البيانات First 15 minutes

Exchange details — but do not admit fault.

Exchange Emirates ID, driving licence, vehicle registration (mulkiya), insurance certificate, and phone number with the other driver. Be polite. Avoid any "I am so sorry" or "I didn't see you" — under UAE law, fault is assigned by the police on scene reconstruction, not by who apologises.

Do notDo not negotiate compensation or hand over cash on the scene. Even with minor matters, the insurer must be in the loop or your policy can be voided.
Note the patrol officer's name and badge
6
الخطوة 6 — تقرير الشرطة (الأخضر / الأحمر) Within 1 hour

Collect the police report — green or red.

UAE police accident reports are colour-coded. Green: not at fault. Red: at fault. Yellow / others may apply for partial fault or specific scenarios. The colour drives whether your insurer pays you or asks you to pay your excess. Without it, no insurer in the UAE pays out.

Do notDo not leave the scene without the report number. Even if the printed copy comes later, the report number gets you everything else.
Dubai Police app · Abu Dhabi Police app
7
الخطوة 7 — أبلغ شركة التأمين Within 24 hours

Notify your insurer — within their stated window.

Most UAE motor policies require notification within 24–72 hours of the incident. Late notification is a contractual ground for the insurer to deny the claim. Use the insurer's app or hotline; provide the police report number, photos, and a brief written account.

Do notDo not let the garage submit the claim on your behalf without you holding a copy of every document — claim files have a way of becoming "incomplete" during disputes.
Your insurer's claim hotline
8
الخطوة 8 — التقرير الطبي Within 24 hours if injured

If injured, secure the official hospital report.

Even minor neck or back pain — go to A&E and get the official medical report. Hospitals create a contemporaneous record, list the diagnosis, and trigger the insurer's personal-injury / third-party bodily injury workflow. Without the report, later claims fail.

Do notDo not "tough it out" and skip the hospital. Soft-tissue injuries surface days later and become impossible to attribute without a same-day record.
Nearest government or licensed private hospital
9
الخطوة 9 — تجنّب وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي Indefinitely

Avoid social media commentary about the accident.

Posting accident photos, opinion on the other driver, or any video showing identifiable persons can trigger UAE Cybercrime Law liability (Federal Decree Law 34/2021), defamation claims, and prejudice your insurance and any later civil claim. Keep it offline.

Do notDo not post photos of the other driver, even if they were rude or "wrong" — this is one of the most common cybercrime complaints filed in the UAE.
Discuss only with insurer + counsel
10
الخطوة 10 — استشر محامياً Within 7 days for injury / dispute

Engage counsel for any injury, criminal exposure or disputed fault.

Where there is bodily injury, alleged drink/drug driving, fatality, disputed colour code, or a third-party trying to recover from you above your insured limit — bring counsel in within the first week. UAE personal-injury claims have specific limitation periods and the case is built from contemporaneous evidence.

Do notDo not give a statement to the other side's insurer or lawyer without your own counsel. Statements made informally bind you.
Noura Almaazmi Advocates: +971 4 241 3555

Key contacts.

Police

999

UAE-wide. English-speaking dispatch.

Ambulance

998

Federal medical emergency.

Dubai Police (non-emergency)

901

Accident centre directions, report status.

RTA (Dubai)

800 90

Vehicle, licence, road-related queries.

Civil Defence

997

Fire and rescue.

Noura Lawyers

+971 4 241 3555

Same-day partner response for personal injury and disputed fault.

Your rights as a driver / passenger

  • You have the right to a police accident report — colour-coded — for every reported accident.
  • You have the right to insurance cover for third-party liability under FDL 6/2007 — mandatory in the UAE.
  • You have the right to hospital treatment regardless of fault; ambulance services are free at point of use.
  • You have the right to refuse on-the-spot cash settlements — your insurer is the proper channel.

Common mistakes

  • Saying "sorry" on scene — turned into an admission of fault.
  • Skipping the hospital and trying to claim soft-tissue injury weeks later.
  • Posting accident photos of the other party — cybercrime exposure.
  • Settling cash on scene without insurer involvement — voids the policy.

When to escalate without waiting.

Engage counsel within the first 48 hours if: the accident involved injury or fatality, the police are alleging serious traffic offences (reckless driving, drink/drug driving, mobile-phone use causing accident), you face a criminal charge under the UAE Penal Code, your fault colour code is disputed, the third-party damages exceed your insurance limit, the other driver is uninsured or unlicensed, or you are facing a personal-injury claim from a passenger or pedestrian. Personal-injury and criminal traffic matters compound quickly; early evidence preservation is the difference between a strong defence and a weak one.

For purely property-damage matters within insurance limits, your insurer's claims team can usually handle the file directly.

Need help right now?

Personal injury, criminal traffic charges, disputed colour codes — partner-led from day one.

+971 4 241 3555