Photo: Gerdel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
If you crash in BC, you must stay at the scene, give reasonable help and exchange names, addresses, vehicle owner, plate and insurance details. Call police and an ambulance right away if anyone is hurt or drugs or alcohol seem involved, then report to ICBC. This guide covers that duty plus the other emergencies in chapter 8 of ICBC’s Learn to Drive Smart: hard braking, skids, deep water, breakdowns and animals, as quick action steps.
After a crash in BC: what you must do
Your legal duties
These apply if you are in a crash, or if other drivers crash because of something you did:
- Stay at the scene.
- Give all reasonable help. Call emergency services if needed.
- Exchange information with the other driver, anyone injured and anyone whose property was damaged: your name and address, the registered owner’s name and address, the plate number and insurance details. Give the same to police or a witness if asked.
Then
- Move vehicles off the road if it is safe.
- Don’t argue about who was at fault.
- Write down witnesses’ names and addresses, and swap licence numbers with the other drivers.
- Take photos or sketch the scene: time, location, weather.
- Report the claim to ICBC online or by phone: 604-520-8222 in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, 1-800-910-4222 elsewhere in BC. Have plate and licence numbers for everyone involved, plus any police file number.
When to call police
- Someone is injured or killed: you must report to police. Call them and an ambulance to the scene.
- Drugs or alcohol seem to be involved: call police to the scene.
- Damage only: the amount set for a written police report under the Motor Vehicle Act has been $10,000 in damage since March 2019 (Accident Report Threshold Regulation, B.C. Reg. 47/2019). Below that, report the claim to ICBC. Check with your local police if unsure.
- ICBC’s guide asks for a police report within 24 hours in a city, or 48 hours in a rural area.
If you come across someone else’s crash
- Park well away so you don’t block traffic or emergency vehicles.
- Warn other drivers, for example with warning triangles.
- Call emergency services and stay with injured people until help arrives.
- Keep anyone from smoking near the scene: fuel may be leaking.
- Just driving past? Don’t slow more than you need to.
Be ready before it happens
ICBC’s first emergency strategy is rehearsal. As you drive, pick out a hazard (a ball rolling into the street, a cyclist swerving, a car stopping dead ahead) and ask yourself what you would do: brake, steer round it or pull over. Carry equipment for the situations below. The handbook mentions warning triangles or flares and tire chains; a flashlight, blanket, shovel and first aid kit are sensible additions. Practise emergency braking and skid control only in a safe place with an expert driver beside you.
Emergency braking: ABS or not
| With ABS | Without ABS |
|---|---|
| Press the brake hard and hold it until you stop. | Press hard, but not hard enough to lock the wheels. |
| Don’t pump. Pumping switches ABS off. | If you start to skid, release quickly, then press hard again. |
| Look and steer where you want to go. | Look and steer where you want to go. |
Noise and shudder from ABS are normal. ABS lets you steer while braking, but it doesn’t always stop you sooner; on gravel it can take longer. ICBC suggests practising in a safe place: reach 30 km/h, brake hard, and steer around an imaginary object.
How to control a skid
Skids come from braking hard, braking and steering at once, cornering too fast or accelerating suddenly. If the rear slides out:
- Ease off the accelerator. Don’t brake.
- Look and steer smoothly where you want to go. If the rear slides right, steer right.
- If it swings back the other way (often from over-correcting), stay off the gas and steer smoothly the new way.
- Repeat until you have control, then carry on carefully.
Bad weather and low traction
Fog, heavy rain and snow
- Slow down, leave extra space, scan more, and use low beams.
- Don’t pass in extreme weather.
- If needed, pull over somewhere safe from traffic until visibility improves.
- Fog lights can replace headlights in some fog, but never use both together, and don’t use fog lights in clear conditions.
Wet roads and hydroplaning
- Roads are slipperiest at the start of a rain, when water mixes with oil.
- Allow at least twice the normal braking distance and brake gently.
- Hydroplaning feels like the steering suddenly goes light. Ease off and drive straight. Never brake.
- Worn tread and low tire pressure make hydroplaning more likely.
- Never use cruise control on wet or slippery roads.
Deep water
- Turn back and find another route if you can.
- Moving water deeper than half a metre can carry a car away.
- If you must cross, go very slowly, then brake lightly for a short distance to dry the brakes.
Ice and snow
- Stopping on ice can take 10 times the normal distance.
- Expect black ice on shiny, dark asphalt, in shaded spots, on bridges and overpasses, and at intersections.
- Temperatures near freezing are more dangerous than colder ones.
- Winter tires or chains are required on many BC roads in winter. Fit chains at a chain-up area, not on a hill.
- Stranded? Stay with the car unless help is certainly close. Run the engine about five minutes an hour with a window slightly open, check the exhaust isn’t blocked, and keep one person awake.
More in winter driving in Canada for new drivers.
Strong wind
Slow down, grip with both hands, and give extra room to motorcycles, small cars, campers and anything towing. A passing truck can push you sideways.
Night driving rules in BC
- Headlights on from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise, and whenever you can’t see 150 metres ahead.
- Parking lights or daytime running lights alone are illegal at night.
- Dip high beams within 150 metres of a vehicle you are meeting or following.
- Low beams light about 30 metres ahead; high beams about 100 metres. Drive slowly enough to stop within what you can see.
- Dazzled by oncoming lights? Look toward the right edge of the road.
- Glare and shadows: slow down before a tunnel, take off sunglasses and switch on your headlights inside it, use sunglasses and the visor by day, keep the windows clean, flip the rear-view mirror to its night setting, and keep a longer following distance at night so your own headlights do not dazzle the driver ahead.
Breakdowns: quick actions
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| Tire blowout | Grip the wheel firmly. Don’t brake suddenly. Ease off the gas, brake gently once slower, steer where you want to go, then pull off with hazard lights on. |
| Brake failure | Pump the brakes hard and fast. Shift to the lowest gear. Apply the parking brake gently, ready to release it if you skid. Look for an escape route. Use hazard lights or horn. |
| Engine dies | Signal and steer to the edge, or to an exit if on a freeway. Avoid stopping on bridges or in tunnels. Don’t turn the ignition off, or the steering locks. Hazard lights on. |
| Headlights fail | Flick the switch on and off. If they stay off, hazard lights on, slow down and pull off the road. |
| Hood flies up | Look through the gap under the hood or out of the side window. Foot off the gas, hazard lights on, tap the brakes to warn drivers behind, steer to the side. |
| Gas pedal sticks | Brake, shift to neutral, follow an escape path off the road, then turn off the engine. Don’t reach down with your hand to free the pedal. |
| Vehicle fire | Stop and get everyone out. Don’t open the hood. Move well away. |
Broken down on the roadside: stay with the vehicle, set out flares or a warning triangle in poor visibility, never get into a stranger’s vehicle, and don’t try repairs beside fast freeway traffic.
Animals on the road
- Take extra care at dusk and dawn, and where you see animal crossing signs.
- Watch for eyes reflecting in your headlights. Where there is one animal, expect more.
- Check your mirror, slow down, and don’t slam on the brakes. Leave a wide margin if you go around.
- If you can’t avoid a large animal, brake firmly and steer to hit it at an angle, letting off the brake just before impact so the front of the car rises.
More in moose, deer and caribou on Canadian roads.
When a crash can’t be avoided
- Slow down as much as you can without locking the brakes.
- Steer toward something soft, such as bushes or a snowbank, not trees or parked cars.
- Avoid a head-on crash at all costs. Steer right, not left, because the oncoming driver will probably go right.
- Use the horn to alert the other driver.
Why speed matters: ICBC says hitting a solid object at 30 km/h is like falling from a one-storey building; at 60 km/h it is like falling from a four-storey roof.
Common questions
Do I have to call police after a minor crash in BC?
Not always. You must for any injury or death, and police should come if drugs or alcohol seem involved. For damage only, check the threshold with local police, then report to ICBC.
Should I admit fault at the scene?
ICBC advises not discussing who is at fault. Exchange the required information and let ICBC assess the claim.
Do I have to report a crash to ICBC if the other driver offers to pay?
It isn’t required, but ICBC says reporting is usually in your interest: the other person may refuse to pay later. A reported claim can still be repaid afterwards.
What if my car starts to skid on the Class 7 road test?
Ease off the gas and steer where you want to go, as above. Better still, slow down early in poor conditions so it doesn’t happen.
Should I swerve for a deer?
Not if swerving risks a worse crash. Slow down hard without locking the brakes. ICBC asks you to weigh whether hitting the animal is less risky than leaving your lane.
Back to the full guide: Learning to drive in BC. Related: See Think Do, BC personal strategies, sharing BC roads.
Sources
- ICBC, “Learn to Drive Smart, Chapter 8: Emergency strategies” (icbc.com)
- ICBC, “Autoplan insurance: your guide to insuring, registering and licensing your vehicle” (APG20Q, March 2026) (icbc.com)
- ICBC, “Collision claims” (icbc.com)
- Government of British Columbia, “Faster fender-bender clearing will keep traffic moving” (news.gov.bc.ca)
- Province of British Columbia, Accident Report Threshold Regulation, B.C. Reg. 47/2019 (bclaws.gov.bc.ca)