Car Accident on Christmas Day: What to Do When Everything Is Closed
Christmas Day is one of the highest-traffic days on Victorian roads. The combination of family travel across the state, drivers who rarely do long trips navigating unfamiliar routes, the occasional impaired driver, and the festive season distraction creates a collision environment that catches people out every year.
It also happens to be the single day of the year when the fewest resources are available to help you. Most panel shops are closed. Many mechanics are unavailable. Insurance lines are staffed but with reduced capability. And you're standing on the side of a road somewhere in the Geelong region, possibly far from home, trying to work out what to do.
This guide tells you exactly that. Step by step, for Christmas Day specifically.
Step 1: Safety First — Every Time
Whatever the day, whatever is closed: if anyone is injured, call 000 immediately. Christmas Day has no bearing on emergency services — ambulance, police, and fire response operate fully on public holidays.
Get everyone away from the vehicle and away from the road. Christmas Day traffic includes drivers who may be impaired or distracted, and a stationary vehicle on the roadside is a hazard.
Step 2: Document the Scene Thoroughly
Because you won't have a panel beater available to assess the damage for at least 24–48 hours, and possibly longer if the Christmas period extends your wait, the documentation you gather at the scene is more important than usual.
Photograph everything:
- All damage to all vehicles from multiple angles
- Both sets of registration plates
- The full accident scene including road layout and any relevant signage
- Witness details if anyone is present
- Dashcam footage if you have it — note the file and save it
Good scene documentation gathered immediately is worth more than any subsequent reconstruction.
Step 3: Exchange Details
Full name, address, phone number, driver's licence number, vehicle registration, and insurance company details. If the other driver is uncooperative or leaves the scene, note everything you can observe — registration plate, vehicle description, direction of travel — and call Victoria Police.
Christmas Day does not affect your legal right to this information, and the other driver's legal obligation to provide it.
Step 4: Call Your Insurer
Insurance companies operate on Christmas Day. The claims line is staffed. Call them to lodge an initial notification — you're establishing the claim date, getting a claim number, and documenting that you reported the incident on the day it occurred.
Do not agree to a specific repairer during this call. Tell them you'll be nominating your own repairer once the holiday period concludes and you've had the vehicle properly assessed. This protects your right to choose.
Step 5: Towing on Christmas Day
If your vehicle is undriveable, towing is available on Christmas Day.
North Geelong Accident Repair Centre 24-hour towing operates on Christmas Day: 0420 801 465.
Your vehicle will be recovered to our secure compound and stored safely until our workshop reopens and a proper assessment can be conducted. Don't leave a damaged vehicle on the roadside over the Christmas period — the risk of secondary damage, theft, and further complications is real over the holiday fortnight.
Step 6: What Happens After Christmas
When workshops reopen — typically in the second week of January — the priority order for post-Christmas repairs is roughly: customers with vehicles already in secure holding, customers who have pre-existing relationships or accounts, new customers who contact shops as soon as they reopen.
If your vehicle is in our compound over Christmas, you're already in the system when we reopen. We'll contact you, conduct the assessment, and get your claim moving as the first priority.
The Decisions That Can Wait
Christmas Day is not the time to make permanent decisions about your vehicle repair. Don't accept cash settlements on the side of the road. Don't agree to an insurer's preferred repairer under time pressure. Don't sign anything you haven't had time to read.
The key decisions — which repairer, whether to claim, what the vehicle is worth — are all better made with proper information, in normal business hours, after the holiday period. Get the vehicle secured, get the incident documented, notify your insurer, and let the professional assessment process happen properly when resources are available.
If You're Stuck Far From Geelong
If you've had an accident on the Great Ocean Road, the Princes Highway, or anywhere within our towing range on Christmas Day, we can recover your vehicle and bring it back to North Geelong safely.
24-Hour Christmas Day Towing: 0420 801 465 Workshop enquiries from January: 03 4244 8938
6 Freedman St, North Geelong VIC 3215 | Book a free assessment when we reopen