An accident report is important for several reasons. First, it provides the name and address of each driver and the name of the driver’s insurance company. Second, an accident report gives a description of how the accident occurred, and the police officer’s opinion as to who caused the collision. Since the officer was not an eye witness, he reaches this opinion by examining evidence at the scene and taking statements from drivers and witnesses. This may include measuring skidmarks to determine the speed of the vehicles and noting where the vehicles came to rest. Third, an accident report records other relevant facts such as the time of day, the weather, and the road conditions at the time of the accident.

Call the police immediately if you are in an accident. If the police is not called at the time of the accident, you can go to the police station and file a statement of what happened, but the police will not issue a ticket or complete its standard form if they did not come to the scene of the accident.