This article has been made anonymous on the request of the user.

When the team of MyHelpBuddy were working on addressing the problems that International students face in Germany, we came across an experience shared by a student who had obtained German driver’s license recently. This article is written as narrated by the user…

“I am an international student in Germany, recently obtained driver’s license. In my home country, I had acquired a driver’s license, but when I started attending theory classes in Germany, I felt that in Germany, following rules is very essential. The good part is that everyone follows the rules in Germany and no one breaks it, which contributes to the smooth traffic of the country.

I wanted to share this experience with an intention to create awareness on the possible simple mistakes that one can make which might cost a huge sum of money.

I rented a Mercedes E Class from a rental company for 3 days for a trip. This incident occurred on my third rental day, when I was about to park the car in another city. The street was buzzing with a University campus nearby. Other cars were parked on the right side of the street. I stopped my car slowly and started searching for parking spaces on the same road. Since there were some cars behind me, I had to either park quick or had to leave space for them. I decided to move a bit to the right. When I tried to move, I hit another car which was parked. I did not realise it immediately, but after someone intimated, I stepped down to check what happened. The other car had a very small damage. This was my second trip after I took license in Germany. I panicked a bit and did not know what to do for a moment. I was also alone in the car at that time.

I moved my car from the spot to the next street and parked it in a free space. I decided to wait for some time near the damaged car. I thought once I could meet the owner, I could speak with him about it and discuss about the insurance for his car. In the rental company I had taken Vollkasko (Selbstbeteiligung auf 0 Euro) which means I do not have to pay anything in case of any damage/accident. I waited for 2 hours and couldn’t find the owner of the damaged car. So, I decided to note down the number of the car and come back, so that in the next morning when I return the car in my home city, I can discuss this with the rental company.

You wouldn’t believe that I had already made 4 mistakes in this situation.

Next morning, 8am I got a call from a Private number. To my surprise, it was the police. They asked about me (in German), and they explained the situation happened the previous day and exact time of the incident. I was shocked that they were pretty accurate. The police also asked me why I moved from that place without informing them. They mentioned that many people on the road saw the incident and had complained about it.

I explained the situation from my side that I had waited for few hours and then noted the number as well. I was about to discuss it with rental company while returning at 10am. The police told me that I had to explain the situation to the respective police officer who will be waiting at the rental office. When I went there, the officer was present and checked my car as well. There were some minor scratches on my car. I explained the whole situation and told them that I forgot to inform the police immediately. To my understanding, I thought I could discuss this with the rental company and with the number I noted down, I could speak to the owner of the damaged car about insurance. I was wrong. The officer told me that I will receive all details through post. In the rental office, they told me to submit an accident report and everything will be handled after that.

Now comes the most shocking part. After few weeks, I got a letter from the police. They had filed 2 cases against me.

1.Hit and Run (Unerlaubtes entfernen vom Unfallort)

 2.Violation of traffic rules

From the rental company, I got another bad news that they cannot claim insurance for this incident and I had to pay for the damages of the rented car. They mentioned the mistakes that I did and also gave the document where everything was clearly mentioned.

Mistake 1: Moving the car from the accident spot and parking it on another street

Mistake 2: Not informing the police immediately after the accident

Mistake 3: Not informing the rental company immediately after the accident

Mistake 4: Not leaving a note on the damaged car with my complete details

Phew!

I had to send a letter (in German) explaining everything. I had also mentioned that since I was a new license holder and did not have much experience, I panicked and forgot that I had to call the police. (In fact, in the theory part, there is a question exactly with the same situation and what one must do in such cases., AND I COMPLETELY FORGOT IT IN THE ACTUAL SITUATION which caused me all this)

After few more weeks, I got a fine of 450 euros from the Police and an expense of 1550 euros from Rental Company for my damaged car. I had to pay the police fine in instalments (monthly 100 euros) and full amount for the rental company. I paid and settled everything.

Costly Lessons learnt:

• Even in case of a minor issue, it is better to call the police and inform them

• It is also important to take pictures after the accident in the same spot without moving the car

• If you rent a car, then you MUST inform the rental company immediately in case of a damage

• Even if you keep a note on the damaged car, it is not sufficient. You have to call the police and once they arrive, you have to explain the situation and act according to their advice

I hope my experience is an exposure to many so that no one repeats the same mistake in case of any such situations”

The team of MyHelpBuddy would like to thank the user for sharing the experience to create awareness. If you are newcomer to Germany and would like to share your experience, tips and create awareness with respect to any topic, feel free to Get in touch with us.

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