Accident Scene Information

Thirty years ago, my brother-in-law was hit from behind in stop & go traffic. He pulled over, exchanged information or so he thought. That evening, he soon realized that all the information provided was fabricated. He was the victim of a hit and run!

There are certain things to do to avoid being a victim like my brother-in-law. Immediately after a car accident, you should first make sure that all parties are OK, helping injured parties and calling 911 if immediate medical attention is necessary. Then you will want to make sure that you’re in a safe place. If not, you should move your car to the shoulder of the road or to an adjacent parking area. You’ll then want to take out your driver’s license and registration and exchange this info with the other operator, taking down their information. If there’s any question of the registration matching the vehicle you can take a picture of the vehicle’s VIN # located on the dashboard and match that to the registration provided. You should always contact the police if there’s any inconsistency with documents provided, if there’s any injury or if you feel threatened by anything in the post-accident process.

If possible, take pictures of the accident scene and most importantly get the names and contact info of anyone who saw the accident and were not directly involved. I believe that you should always complete an operator report to confirm the information and get your story together when it’s fresh in your mind.

Here’s the legal requirements of filing a report…

“M.G.L. Chapter 90, Section 26 requires a person who was operating a motor vehicle involved to complete the Motor Vehicle Crash Operator Report form in which:

• any person was killed
• any person was injured 
• there was damage in excess of $1,000 to any one vehicle or other property

Report with the Registrar within 5 days after such crash (unless the person is physically incapable of doing so due to incapacity). The person completing the report must also send a copy of the report to the police department having jurisdiction on the way where the crash occurred. If the operator is incapacitated but is not the vehicle’s owner, the owner is required to file the crash report within the 5 days based on his/her knowledge and information obtained about the crash. The Registrar may require the owner or operator to supplement the report, and he/she can revoke or suspend the license of any person violating any provision of this legal requirement. A police department is required to accept a report filed by an owner or operator whose vehicle has been damaged in a crash in which another person unlawfully left the scene even if damage to the vehicle does not exceed $1,000.”

Atlantic Insurance helps our clients through the claims process from start to finish. We’ve assisted clients via phone at the scene of an accident. Our top priority is helping clients in their time of need.