How To File A Car Accident Report In Texas
One of the first things you have to do after most vehicle accidents in Texas is report the incident. There are a few ways to report vehicle accidents in this state, and the route you choose will depend primarily on whether or not there were any injuries or property damage caused by the incident. Here, we want to discuss the main methods of filing a car accident report in Texas.
What Are the Texas Car Accident Reporting Requirements?
Under Texas Transportation Code 601.004, we can see that there are specific requirements under the law for reporting vehicle accidents in Texas. Every accident must be reported within 10 days if the incident resulted in an injury, death, or property damage that exceeds $1,000.
The Police Can File the Report
However, there are a few ways to get an accident report filed. The first and most common way that people are familiar with is having law enforcement officials come to the scene of the incident so they can fill out an accident report. State law requires any law enforcement official who investigates a motor vehicle accident under the above requirements to submit their written report to the Texas Department of Transportation.
If the police come to the scene of the accident and fill out an accident report, the drivers of the other vehicles will typically not have to file their own report with the Texas DOT.
Filing the Report Yourself
If law enforcement officials do not come to the scene of the accident, but the accident is still considered reportable based on the above-stated criteria, then the drivers involved will need to fill out a crash report, referred to as the Texas Blue Form (CR-2).
The CR-2 is designed to give details about the accident that would typically be included in a police report submitted to the DOT. The information needed to fill out this form includes:
- The time and place of the incident
- Information related to all drivers involved, including
- Names
- Addresses
- Date of birth
- Driver’s license state and number
- License plate state and numbers
- Insurance company names and policy numbers
- A narrative of how the accident occurred
- Road and weather conditions at the time the incident occurred
If drivers do not submit an accident report, they risk having their driver’s license suspended as well as additional fines and possible jail time.
Please keep in mind that individual drivers will not have to submit the CR-2 form if police officers come to the scene to take a report. The police officers will turn in their own form (CR-3), which is sufficient for reporting requirements in Texas.
Working With an Attorney
Regardless of whether or not the police filled out an accident report or you filled out an accident report, we encourage you to speak to an accident attorney in Laredo. A lawyer can help you fill out your accident report and turn it in, particularly paying attention to the details and the narrative section. When your lawyer helps you with your case, they will be the ones to interact with all of the parties involved. The goal is to help you recover compensation for your losses if another party was at fault. Improperly filling out the accident report could jeopardize any insurance claim you file.