has anyone had an accident whilst abroad.
were there any complications or hassles with the police etc.language difficulties etc.
i have had one in a car, but i wont mention it in case the tread gets moved because its not truck related. 
No I havenât.
But I think its always worth buying the Green Card to ensure you have Comprehensive / Own Damage cover when abroard.
For starters, if the accident is not your fault, your insurers will have an interest in fighting your corner and getting the truck back on the road. If youâre Third Party only, then youâre pretty much on your own.
One, 9 years ago. I wrote off my Scania in Belgium when I jack-knifed it, no other vehicles involved and I had no problems at all with the police or the insurance company.
Errr, yes!! See here!
The Police were ok, quite uninterested really, like nothing phases them or bothers them etc etc.
The vehicle is contract hire so kinda ânot our problemâ
Green card?? Itâs a legal requirement, isnât it??
I have always gone out with insurance forms and the Green Card is obligatory unless they have change it recently.
SMUDGER:
I have always gone out with insurance forms and the Green Card is obligatory unless they have change it recently.
I donât think its a legal requirement anymore if youâre travelling in the EU.
mrpj:
SMUDGER:
I have always gone out with insurance forms and the Green Card is obligatory unless they have change it recently.I donât think its a legal requirement anymore if youâre travelling in the EU.
Do you think it wise to carry one just in case?
SMUDGER:
mrpj:
SMUDGER:
I have always gone out with insurance forms and the Green Card is obligatory unless they have change it recently.I donât think its a legal requirement anymore if youâre travelling in the EU.
Do you think it wise to carry one just in case?
Yes, I would
The âGreen Cardâ is not obligatory.
All British motor insurance policies must include cover against those liabilities which are compulsorily insurable in all other Member States of the European Union and Norway and Switzerland. It is an offence to use a vehicle or trailer that is not insured in this way even though it may never leave the UK
Most insurance companies now automatically give âEU Territorial Limitsâ in respect of compulsory insurance requirements for each of the Member States and while it is still necessary to advise your insurance company when travelling abroad, it is not strictly necessary to have a Green Card. If Comprehensive cover is required for foreign use the policy should be extended to comprehensive cover for all the countries to be visited, in which case a Green Card will normally be issued. Whether you carry a green card or not is irrelevant, if you have comprehensive cover you have it regardless of a bit of green paper.
The cover under the EU Directive is the minimum required and applies to third party cover only; it doesnât include fire and theft and may not fully cover liability to other people so comprehensive cover would be the sensible option.
OK Coffee. Thanks for that mate.
Whether you carry a green card or not is irrelevant, if you have comprehensive cover you have it regardless of a bit of green paper
Not sure if that bit is 100% correct.
If you buy comprehensive cover, they will usually sell you an annual green card or â more likely for private car policies â include an automatic short period extension eg trips up to 30days in total during the policy year (you need to check your own cover â donât rely on this).
If you donât by the annual green card, then you have to buy one for each trip. This is to give you comprehensive cover outside your home territory â for EC you have the minimum local country third party cover requirement as said above.
An annual green card from my insurer is ÂŁ600, excluding Italy. I currently buy one as required for ÂŁ60 a week. Its cost me more to do this than it would have done to buy the annual cover â I didnât know how much euro work I was going to get! I usually price this into the job, so Iâm not losing sleep over it.
Spaceman, you donât buy a Green Card, the charge you are paying is to have your insurance cover extended to other countries. So in your case it isnât ÂŁ600 for a Green Card but ÂŁ600 to extend your comprehensive cover to Europe, the bit of green paper is a free gift for spending all that money. 
The Green card doesnât even prove that you have comprehensive cover it only proves that you meet the minimum insurance requirements, usually third party only, for countries that it covers.
The following quotes regarding Green Cards all come from the Motor Insurersâ Bureau website.
No charge is made for a Green Card. However, if cover is increased at the same time the Green Card is issued, an insurer is entitled to make a charge for the extension of cover. Intermediaries are also entitled to charge for obtaining Green Cards for their clients.
The additional premium is not for the green card document itself, but covers the cost of extending your full (non-compulsory) UK cover to the foreign countries you propose to visit. Some insurers will extend your UK policy for foreign travel for a limited period at no extra charge.
The Green Card offers no insurance cover but is proof that the minimum legal requirements for third party liability insurance in any country for which the Green Card is valid are covered by the insuredâs own motor policy.
Having said that it still makes practical sense to carry one because the Green Card is still the insurance document most recognized and understood by national police forces and as you may need to produce evidence of insurance, at a control or the scene of an accident for instance, carrying a one can avoid inconvenience and delay while your UK certificate is translated. Some insurers do print on the reverse of your UK insurance certificate a statement in several European languages that your certificate is evidence of the existence of the minimum cover required by law throughout the European Union.
Coffeeholic:
Having said that it still makes practical sense to carry one because the Green Card is still the insurance document most recognized
Recently, certainly since Sloveinia has been in the EU, we have trouble at the borders of Austria/Sloveinia and on the return leg of the journey Croatia/Sloveinia.
I think they are still passing the message to the border police that they are now actually in Europe and that back-handers are a thing of the past!! 
I always ask the insurers for a âgreen cardâ;
Them âYou donât need one, itâs already on the back of your Ins Cert.â
Me âI know that but not everyone in Europe does.â
Them âWell they should!â
Me âHave you ever worked anywhere out of this offfice?â 
yes, if the police were involved and you did something wrong in their eyes then you paid a fine (usually a bond against a proposed fine).
sometimes both parties pay a fine and when guilt is decided one party may get back the fine.
if this is what happened then the next you hear will be a letter telling you that you either owe more money and how to send it or they owe you money and how you can collect it or the fine is correct.
if this isnât what happened and it was just a minor bump then you may hear nothing at all, if you are making a claim against another driver from abroad then donât get your car fixed just yet unless you are paying for it yourself, some insurance companies take forever over there, itâs always coffee time or dinner time or they are just finishing for the day.
usually with the police everything is finished when they let you go.
Iâve had a couple of minor bumps in Germany (changing lanes, blind side.oops) 
As Johnny said if you dont want to argue the toss a small fine and away you go. No endorsments no summons, no hassle
Just dont mention the war.
mojo:
Just dont mention the war.
Too true. Best not to mention it on these forums at all because given the tone of many recent posts I think a lot of our members would be supporting Germany, on the grounds that they did invade Poland.
mojo:
Just dont mention the war.
Or the World Cup in 1966, or
to a Scotsman, Mexico
TO help those who areinvolved in a incident in GERMANY , First off the
german police will give the person they consider the guilty party a fine,
depending on how serious the offense is this may vary from 30.euros
upwards,if the fine is over 30euros upto say 300euros you will recive points
which go onto a account for you as non.-german-licence holder in "âFLENSBURGâ"this is the german DVLC office,and after reaching a
set limit of points you will be informened that you are BANNED from
driveing in GERMANY in a lorry --&âcar, for a set time ,
IF your offense is one that requires you to appear in court it may be that you will be asked to supply a larger sum of money as a caution,and
please do not think that when back home you are safe and sound as
if required they will submit a arrest warrant to the police in GB for you to
bebrought to germany to appear in court and be judged,
A GOOD TIP,is get your insureance broker to supply you with forms that
are extra for accidents reports which you can use abroad, do not forget
your greencard and sign it, buy a camera to take pictures of the accident scene,have also a list of people or offices that can give you advice as and when you require this, from the TRANSPORT OFFICE;THROUGH TO
the british consulate,these are just a few tips and hopefully some of the other members will come forward and post there tips as well,
I had an accident several years ago, I was forced off the road by a car which was never found at the time! It happened right outside the hospital at Brugge, within minutes I was being lifted into an ambulance and a policeman came with me.
As I got out of my truck to look at the damage, a kind passer by, called the ambulance for me. they had noticed that I was limping very badly!
I was taken to a ward and then down to x ray, the doctors decided I needed a hip replacement and that they would do it the next morning
This quite surprised me as I had been waiting for 30 years to have this done by the NHS
I have since had my hip replaced, and the car driver was eventually found, and it turned out he was a doctor, late for work.
No problems with the police, doctors or anyone, and the bills were all paid by Transmed