When to call the police after a crash

Call 911 in these situations

• Someone is hurt. That includes anyone who says they are in pain or seems confused, in any car or on foot. Call even in the few states whose law asks only that you give your details: an injured person needs help, and the insurers will want the record.
• The scene is dangerous. A car is on fire or leaking fuel, a car is stuck in a travel lane, or debris blocks the road.
• The other driver leaves, or won't share details. Note the plate, the car and the direction it went, and call. State laws require drivers in a crash to stop and identify themselves, so a driver who drives off may be committing a hit-and-run.
• Something seems wrong. The other driver appears drunk or high, has no license or insurance card, or the conversation turns hostile.

In those cases, call first and sort out the insurance later. Tell the dispatcher the exact place, how many cars are involved and whether anyone needs an ambulance. Stay at the scene unless staying puts you in danger.

What your state requires

Outside those cases, the duty to call depends on your state's vehicle code. Most states use some mix of three triggers: an injury or a death, property damage that appears to be above a dollar amount, and a crash where no one at the scene can take your details. The dollar amounts differ by a factor of 80.

"Apparent damage" means what a reasonable person would guess at the scene, not the final repair bill. Modern bumpers hide sensors and brackets, so a crash that looks like a few hundred dollars often costs more. If you are near your state's line, treat the crash as reportable. Your state's exact rule, with the statute, is on its page in claim rules by state.

A police call and a DMV report are two duties

Calling the police does not always finish your reporting. Some states also require each driver to send a written report to the motor vehicle department within a few days, and a missed report can lead to a license suspension even when you did nothing wrong in the crash.

Your insurer will not file a state report for you either. Reporting to the insurer is a third, separate step that your policy requires; see reporting an accident to your insurer.

Why a report helps even after a small crash

When no one is hurt and the damage is light, the law may not require a call. A report can still be worth asking for, for reasons that show up weeks later in the claim file:

• Stories change. The other driver may agree at the roadside that they ran the light and tell their insurer something else. An officer's notes on positions, damage and statements are hard to argue with.
• Adjusters ask for it first. The report number is one of the first things both insurers want, and it often names witnesses and the other driver's insurer.
• Hit-and-run claims depend on it. The standard personal auto policy asks a person claiming uninsured motorist coverage after a hit-and-run to notify the police promptly. A report made days later can weaken the claim.
• Injuries can surface later. If someone reports pain after the fact, a record made at the time shows what happened.

While the officer is there, and after

1. Give facts, not guesses. Say what you saw and did. If you don't know your speed or the distance, say so rather than estimating.
2. Ask for the officer's name, badge number and agency. City police, the sheriff and the state patrol keep separate records.
3. Ask for the report or incident number and when and where the report will be available.
4. Get a copy once it is ready. Ask the agency how; Texas, for example, sells crash reports online through TxDOT's Crash Report Online Purchase System.
5. Read it for errors. If a plate, a name or the insurer is wrong, ask the agency how to request a correction or add a statement, and tell your insurer.

A police report is evidence, not the final word on fault. Insurers make their own fault decision from the report, the photos, the statements and the damage, and they can disagree with the officer. A citation at the scene is strong evidence, but it does not decide the claim on its own.

Questions people ask