What if I have a car accident or breakdown in Morocco?

If you have an accident, the priorities are calm and order. Stop, switch on hazard lights, check that everyone in both vehicles is safe, and move to a safe spot if you can. For injuries, call an ambulance (SAMU, 15). Then call the police — 19 in towns and cities, or the Royal Gendarmerie on 177 on highways and rural roads. In Morocco a police report (constat) is essential: insurers require it, and you should not settle or drive off without one. Exchange details with the other driver, photograph the scene and both vehicles, and wait for the authorities.

For a breakdown — a flat tyre, an overheating engine, a dead battery — pull off the road as far as you safely can, put out the warning triangle (rental cars carry one), and call the rental company's roadside assistance number, which is on your contract and worth saving in your phone before you set off. Reputable rental firms dispatch help or a replacement vehicle. On a quiet rural road, the Gendarmerie (177) are also a good call; they patrol the highways and are used to helping stranded drivers find a garage or a tow.

Paperwork and cover decide how smooth the aftermath is. Drive with your rental agreement, insurance documents, passport and driving licence (an International Driving Permit alongside your home licence is recommended). Take full insurance — the rental's collision and theft cover, ideally topped up by your own travel or credit-card car-hire excess insurance — so a knock costs you a phone call rather than a fortune. Photograph the car all over at pick-up so pre-existing scratches are never blamed on you.

Honestly, this is a big reason many of our travellers choose a private driver over self-drive. Moroccan roads can be demanding — mountain passes, assertive city traffic, livestock on rural roads, and police checkpoints where you simply slow down, greet politely and show papers if asked. With a professional driver, an accident or breakdown becomes their problem to manage in Arabic and French, not yours, and you keep enjoying the scenery. If you do self-drive, save 19, 177, 15 and your rental's assistance line before you leave the lot, and keep your phone charged.