Do I Have To Call The Police If I Have A Car Accident In New York?

The simple answer is, “Yes.” The Vehicle and Traffic Law of the State of New York does not require a person involved in a motor vehicle accident to call the police, however, it’s the smart thing to do on several levels.

(1) The Police Accident Report contains a plethora of important information necessary to go forward with a personal injury or property damage claim. When a police officer comes to the scene of an accident, he/she will write down the names and addresses of the drivers and owners of the vehicles, the year, make and model of each vehicle, the name of the insurance carriers and the insureds’ policy numbers. In addition, the officer (usually) will write down each driver’s version of the facts.

(2) Many insurance representatives become skeptical and difficult to deal with if a Police Accident Report was not created. The bodily injury and property damage adjustors have been trained to sniff out fraudulent claims. When they hear that the police did not come to the scene, a red flag goes up and you often have a battle on your hands.

(3) Most people will feel compelled to report the accident to their insurance carrier due to the creation and filing of a Police Accident Report. This helps us get the ball rolling at an early stage of the case.

If you’re involved in a motor vehicle accident in the State of New York, do yourself a favor and call the police no matter how much the other driver begs you not to. For additional advice pertaining to auto accident cases, call Michael Dreishpoon, Esq. (718-793-5555), a Queens, NY attorney with 23-plus years of experience.