A minor crash with no injuries: what Armenian law has required since 30 August 2026

Since 30 August 2026 a new wording of Article 24 of the Law "On Ensuring Road Traffic Safety" has been in force (ՀՕ-399-Ն, adopted 03.07.2026, in force 30.08.2026). Under part 4.1, point 2: if the accident caused property damage only and the circumstances in which the damage was caused, and the nature and list of the visible damage, raise no disagreement between the participants, drivers are no longer obliged to report it to the police. They may either fill in the agreed accident report (the Europrotocol) themselves — if the features of the crash fit its conditions — and clear the vehicles from the scene within 15 minutes, or draw up no documents at all, if only the participants' own property was damaged and nobody wants to claim against anybody else. If there is no disagreement but the features of the crash do not fit those conditions, point 1 of the same part applies and reporting to the police stays mandatory.

Whichever route you end up on, the same first steps apply to every accident.

The first steps are the same in every case

Under Article 24, part 2(d), a driver involved in a crash must:

• stop immediately and/or not move the vehicle;
• switch on the hazard lights;
• place the "Emergency stop" identification sign;
• not move objects connected with the accident, or bodies if there are any;
• not change the position of the vehicles involved relative to each other and to objects of the road infrastructure;
• not damage or alter the traces.

Vehicles that stopped right next to the scene to help must have their hazard lights on too — that is in the same sub-point.

Two of those duties are spelled out in the Rules of the Road as well (RA Government Decision No. 955-N of 28 June 2007, Annex 1). Point 22, sub-point 1 puts a road accident first among the cases where the hazard lights must be on, and point 23 requires the "Emergency stop" sign (or a flashing red lamp) to go up immediately after them — at least 15 m from the vehicle in built-up areas, 30 m outside them. It is a Group 9 · Signals, lights, overtaking and railway crossings topic; drill it in Group 9 practice.

One prohibition that is easy to forget: Article 24, part 7(h) bans the driver, after an accident, from consuming alcoholic drinks, psychotropic or other consciousness-clouding substances, until the sobriety check is carried out or a decision releases them from it.

If anyone was killed or injured, a different procedure applies

The "easy" options in part 4.1 cover property damage only. If people were killed or injured, part 4 applies and gives no leeway: give first aid, call the emergency medical service or another specialized service and report to the police; in extreme cases send the casualties with a passing vehicle and, if that is impossible, take them in your own vehicle to the nearest medical organization, give your name, surname and registration number there (with ID or your license, and the registration document), and return to the scene; take all possible lawful steps to get other road users to drive around the scene; wait for the police and follow their instructions.

Do not decide for yourself whether someone counts as injured. Article 2 defines an injured person as one whose bodily injury makes hospitalization or outpatient treatment necessary — a doctor's call, not a driver's. The first-aid minimum is in Group 10 · First aid; Article 23, part 1(c) also gives you the right to free medical, rescue and other primary assistance from the competent organizations and persons.

Property damage only: three routes

A. There is disagreement — you call the police

Part 4.1, point 1 applies in two situations: the circumstances in which the damage was caused, and the nature and list of the visible damage, cause disagreement; or they do not, but the features of the accident (the number of vehicles involved and/or the expected compensation) do not match the conditions of the agreed-report compensation process. Then the driver must:

1. notify the police;
2. before the officers arrive, record by photograph and video the vehicles' position relative to each other and to the road infrastructure, the traces, the objects and the damage;
3. within 15 minutes of the crash, move the vehicles somewhere that does not obstruct other road users;
4. wait for the officers.

That third duty has exactly two exceptions, both written into the Law: when moving is objectively impossible (the crash left a fault that prohibits or prevents operating the vehicle), and when the crash happened where it obstructs nobody.

B. No disagreement and the crash fits the report's conditions

You fill in the agreed accident report yourselves and clear the vehicles from the scene within 15 minutes (part 4.1, point 2(a)).

C. No disagreement and nobody has a claim

You may draw up no documents at all, if only the participants' own vehicles or property were damaged and none of them wishes to draw up documents and/or claim against the others, including through insurers (part 4.1, point 2(b)).

Routes B and C cannot be undone

This is the most overlooked provision of the new wording. Under part 4.2, once the drivers have chosen sub-point (a) or (b), a later application or report by them to the police about that accident triggers no proceedings at all and is left without action. There is no "let's drive off now and call later": the decision is made at the scene.

What the police draw up

On route A the police collect the data and draw up two reports — one on the accident, one on the technical baseline data of its circumstances (part 4.3). The second may be omitted if the crash happened in daylight, in sufficient visibility, and there is a video recording of the moment and of the participants' immediately following actions — so a working dashcam shortens the procedure outright. The materials may go to the Armenian Motor Insurers' Bureau, its member insurers and third parties for settling the compensation process. The form of the accident report, and the requirements for the composition and structure of the technical baseline data, are approved by the head of the police in agreement with the Central Bank of Armenia.

What is deliberately not on this page

• The conditions of the agreed accident report — the vehicle count and the expected compensation — are set by the Law "On Compulsory Insurance of Liability Arising from the Use of Motor Vehicles", which is not among the acts cited above. Do not look for a figure here; ask your insurer.
• Fines — administrative liability sits in a different code and is not stated here.
• The Rules (No. 955-N) contain no accident procedure at all: their current wording has been in force since 01.10.2025 and was not amended after ՀՕ-399-Ն (status re-checked 18 September 2026). Only the hazard lights and the "Emergency stop" sign come from the Rules; the rest comes from the Law.

This topic on the exam

A driver's duties after an accident fall squarely in Group 2 · Traffic Safety Law and basic terms, which supplies 2 of the test's questions; the same duties are restated in the Group 10 chapter. The summary is in the Group 2 theory chapter, the official questions in Group 2 practice, the whole bank under Exam questions. Once your score there is steady, test yourself in the full exam simulation. For the test's structure see How to pass the theory exam; for where stopping and parking are banned, Stopping and parking. For first aid to an injured person, see First aid after a road accident.