Driving here

What to do when something goes wrong on the road, and what all those signs and plate letters actually mean.

Just had an accident?

Dutch side: don't call the police for an ordinary bump — call CARS. They come to the scene and record it for whichever insurer you're with.
🚗 CARS 542-0466 Ambulance 912 🇸🇽 Police 911 🇫🇷 Police 17 SAMU 15
Anyone hurt? Ambulance first, and the police too — 912 and 911, or 112 from any phone on either side. Move nothing and wait.

After a crash, in order

Stop and switch on your hazards
Leaving the scene is an offence on both sides, even for a scrape. Put the warning triangle out if the road is blocked or it's dark.
Check for injuries before anything else
Ambulance 912 on the Dutch side, 15 on the French side, or 112 from any phone anywhere on the island. If anyone is hurt, the police come too — that part isn't optional.
Dutch side: call CARS, not the police
Caribbean Accident & Road Services, +1 721 542-0466. They survey the scene and file the report your insurer needs, and they work with every motor insurer on the island — NAGICO, ENNIA, Fatum, Aska, New India, Gulf. For a normal two-car bump with nobody injured, this is the call that actually settles your claim. Police are for injuries, a blocked road, a driver who won't stop, or anyone who seems drunk.
Do not move the cars until CARS has seen them
This is the one everyone gets wrong. Move the cars to be helpful and you've destroyed the evidence your claim rests on. Leave them, unless you're blocking a bridge or a blind bend — and photograph both cars from four corners, both plates, the damage, the road and any skid marks while you wait.
French side: constat amiable
Different system across the border. Both drivers fill in and sign the same constat sheet — it's in every glovebox — and each keeps a copy. Gendarmerie 17 only if someone's hurt or a driver refuses to cooperate.
Get the other driver's details
Name, phone, plate number, insurance company and policy number, and a photo of their driving licence. Note the plate letter too — it tells you if it's a rental, a taxi or a government car.
Call your rental company or insurer straight away
Most rental agreements give you 24 hours to report, and paying for a tow yourself without telling them can void the cover.

Roadside help & towing

CARS — Caribbean Accident & Road Services
The island's accident and roadside service, Zagersgut Road #15, Philipsburg. Accident scene reports for every insurer, plus flat tyres, dead batteries, keys locked in and towing. Formerly St. Maarten Roadside Service.
542-0466
Your rental company first
If the car is rented, call them too — they have their own arrangement, and a tow you organise yourself usually isn't reimbursed. Several rental firms give 93 77 as their roadside line.
Police, for a blocked road
A car stopped on the causeway, the airport road or in a roundabout is a police matter as well as a garage one.
911
Know a tow truck that answers at 2 am? Send the number — this list should have five names on it, not one.

Garages & tyre shops near you

🔧 Mechanics 🛞 Tyres & battery 🪟 Windscreen ⛽ Nearest fuel

The rules, in short

Drive on the right — both sides
Overtake on the left. Distances and speeds are in kilometres everywhere on the island.
Speed limits
Go by the sign, because they vary: you'll see MAX 30 on the bad bends, 40 and 50 through built-up areas, 60 on open road and 80 on the few stretches signed for it. Kilometres, not miles. Realistically traffic sets the pace, but the limit is what's on the pole.
Roundabouts
Traffic already on the roundabout has priority. Signal right as you leave, not as you enter.
No turning on red
Not the US rule here — red means stop until it's green, both sides.
Seat belts, front and back
Everyone, every seat. Hand-held phones are prohibited; hands-free only.
Drink driving
0.05% blood alcohol is the limit. Taxi fares are on our taxi page and cost less than a night in a cell.
The local courtesy
A flash of headlights here usually means "come ahead", not "get out of the way". Someone stopping to let you out of a side road is normal — a wave back is expected.

Signs you'll actually meet

The Dutch side uses Dutch (European) signs, the French side uses French ones. They're close cousins — these are the ones that catch visitors out. Drawn from what's actually up on the poles here; Alps' Roads has photographs of the real thing.

What the letter on a plate means

This is a practical guide, not the law itself — the traffic ordinance (Dutch side) and the code de la route (French side) are what actually count, and rental agreements add their own rules. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.