After a car accident: the key words
The words you need at the roadside, on the phone to 112 and on the insurance form after a car accident.
A crash is stressful in any language. These are the words for what happened, who helps, the safety kit in your boot, and the paperwork afterwards, in the order you'll need them.
- 1
en olycka
an accident
Tip: Also means misfortune; a road accident is a traffic one.
- 2
en krock
a crash, a collision
Tip: The everyday word; there's a verb from it too.
- 3
att krocka
to crash (into something)
Tip: Used with 'with' in Swedish: crash with a car, a tree.
- 4
en påkörning bakifrån
a rear-end collision
Tip: lit. 'a driving-into from behind'.
- 5
en viltolycka
a collision with a wild animal
Tip: Moose, deer and boar cause thousands of these every year.
- 6
en älg
a moose
Tip: Watch for the yellow warning signs with its silhouette.
- 7
skadad
injured
Tip: Adds -e in the plural: several hurt people.
- 8
en skada
an injury, damage
Tip: Covers both a hurt person and a dented car.
- 9
en ambulans
an ambulance
Tip: Comes when you call the emergency number.
- 10
polisen
the police
Tip: Usually used in the definite form.
- 11
ett nödsamtal
an emergency call
Tip: What you make when you dial the one number for police, ambulance and fire.
- 12
varningsblinkers
hazard lights
Tip: lit. 'warning blinkers'; usually used without an article.
- 13
en varningstriangel
a warning triangle
Tip: Kept in the boot; placed on the road behind the car.
- 14
en reflexväst
a high-visibility vest
Tip: Put it on before you step out onto the road.
- 15
ett vittne
a witness
Tip: An ett-word; plural ends in -n.
- 16
en förare
a driver
Tip: Same form in the plural.
- 17
ett körkort
a driving licence
Tip: lit. 'a drive card'.
- 18
ett registreringsnummer
a registration number
Tip: Usually shortened to 'reg number' in speech.
- 19
en försäkring
insurance
Tip: From a verb meaning to assure or insure.
- 20
ett försäkringsbolag
an insurance company
Tip: Its last part means company.
- 21
en trafikförsäkring
compulsory motor third-party insurance
Tip: Every car on the road must have it by law.
- 22
en självrisk
an excess, a deductible
Tip: lit. 'a self-risk': the part you pay yourself.
- 23
en skadeanmälan
a claim report
Tip: The form you send your insurer; also the joint form drivers fill in on the spot.
- 24
vållande
at fault (legally responsible for an accident)
Tip: Insurance and police language: the driver who caused it.
- 25
en buckla
a dent
Tip: Plural: two dents.
- 26
en repa
a scratch
Tip: Common on paint and on phone screens.
- 27
en stötfångare
a bumper
Tip: lit. 'a bump catcher'.
- 28
en vindruta
a windscreen
Tip: lit. 'a wind pane'.
- 29
en bärgningsbil
a tow truck
Tip: lit. 'a salvage car'.
- 30
en verkstad
a garage (repair shop)
Tip: Not where you park; where the car gets fixed.
- 31
en nackskada
whiplash, a neck injury
Tip: The pain often shows up only the next day.