How to Report a Car Accident Ontario
How to Report a Car Accident Ontario: Millions of cars and trucks roam on Ontario roads daily. It’s mishmash on highways and secondary roads, especially in winter time.
Numbers alone say accidents will continue to happen and are unavoidable, simple math. In 2022 in Ontario were 353 fatalities from vehicle accidents, 27 from off-road crashes and 29 pedestrians.
What to do if you are involved in an accident in Ontario?
Major accidents in Ontario must be reported as soon as possible. Call 911 when involved in a major accident and there are injuries. Find a safe place and stay close to accident scene. All accidents need to be reported sooner or later, failure to report an accident in Ontario can result in fines up to $1,000 and loss of demerit points.
Report minor accidents within 24 hours at Ontario Collision Reporting Center.
Accident which need to be reported immediately
– Major accidents which with injuries
– Accidents which damage value exceeds $2,000
– Accidents where intoxication is involved
– Government vehicles involved
– Accident involves a pedestrian
Accidents which can be reported to Reporting Center
– Accidents without injuries
– Accident with damages lower than $2,000
How to Report Minor Car Accident Ontario
Minor accidents without injuries and small damages do not need to be reported immediately to police. Reporting can be done latter on but within 24 hours at Ontario Collision Reporting Center. However, if you are involved in a minor accident you are expected to move vehicles off road, if safe to do so. No reason to block traffic.
Take plenty of pictures before removing vehicles from collision area. Exchange driver license and insurance information with other drivers involved. Do not be confrontational with other drivers and avoid provocations. Remember, accidents happen by mistake, no one wants an accident on purpose.
How to Report Major Car Accident Ontario
Major accidents should be reported immediately. Especially if there are injuries involved. Call 911, remain on scene and wait for police and ambulance to arrive. As we said earlier, do not interact with other drivers and avoid confrontation.
Confrontation will only make things worse and won’t help anybody. There is no need to make a bad situation worse.
Take Pictures of Accident Scene
As soon as safe to do so take photos of accident scene. If possible before you move your car. Its important to make sure you have evidence of what happened when dealing with your insurance latter on. Take photos of other vehicles involved and their license plates.
Take photos from several angles if you can. However, be careful of incoming traffic when taking photos, it can become dangerous very fast.
Record Details of Accident
People forget and memory get distorted with time. Record everything that happened as soon as you can: date, time, weather, road condition, your speed, other vehicle involved estimated speed, accident circumstances, etc. Either write them down or record on your cell phone, it will come handy later.
Remain on Accident Scene
Based on Highway Traffic Act you should remain on scene if involved in a major accident. Penalties for failure to remain on scene are: Fines up to $2,000, drivers license suspension up to 3 years and even jail time depending on accident severity and injuries.
Hit and Run Accidents
If someone hits your vehicle and leave accident scene, call the police and obey their instructions. Hit and run is serious and drivers risk charges for failure to remain on accident scene. If damages are lower than $2,000 report it to Accident Reporting center with 24 hours. Notify your insurance company too. Take pictures of accident scene and your vehicle.
Accident information Exchange
Exchange information with other drivers involved in collision:
1) Full name
2) Vehicle brand, color and model
3) Insurance information and policy number
4) Vehicle Ownership Information
5) Driver license number
6) Phone number
7) License plate number
8) Number and names of Passengers Involved
9) Use your cell phone to take pictures because it’s easier and faster than writing information on paper.
Detail on Ontario Vehicle Ownership.
Accident Reporting Ontario
As we said previously, minor accident should be reported within 24 hours at an Ontario Collision Reporting Center. You will be provided a form to complete with accident details.
An officer will inspect damage in your car to confirm damage value. Accident sticker will be placed on your car confirming accident reporting.
Report Car Accident to Your Insurance in Ontario
Call and report accidents to your insurance as soon as you can, regardless of police involvement or not. You will be asked about accident details and an adjuster will be assigned to handle your case. In Ontario, your insurance premium will go up when you claim an accident and you are at fault. You should report accidents to your insurance with or without a police report.
Police might not come to an accident scene if they deem it unnecessary, when there are no injuries and only small damages to vehicles. They will advise you to report accident to Reporting Center and call your insurance company to deal with it.
Failing to Report a Minor Car Accident in Ontario
Insurance premiums goes up when involved in an accident and you are at fault. People sometimes try to deal with each other and avoid accident reporting completely. Be careful in this case as problems might arise latter on if one of the drivers decides to report the accident. You can be fined for failure to report an accident and deemed at fault even if you were not.
Penalties for failure to report a minor accident:
- $1,000 fine
- 3 demerit points
- Insurance premium increases
- Conviction on driving record for 3 years
Insurance Accident Record
Generally, accidents can stay on your record and affect your insurance rates for up to 6 years. However, only accidents which you were deemed at fault will affect your policy rates. Accidents on which you were not at fault will not raise or affect your insurance premiums.
Every insurance company is different though (so they say) and will depend on what they decide. Assuming accident is your fault, you can be found guilty or partially guilty by your insurance company.
Your insurance rate will most likely will go up if found guilty. If you are not at fault, accident will not affect your insurance rates.
If you have accident forgiveness policy they will disregards first accident at fault. Although, that doesn’t mean accident doesn’t go on your record. It does and insurance companies have a shared database. If you change insurance company then all bets are off. Other insurance companies have no obligation to disregard your past accident history and premiums might be affected.
Vehicle Residual Value After an Accident
Whether you are at fault or not, a collision will affect your vehicle resale value, something to keep in mind. Vehicle value will suffer regardless of who pays for repairs, who is at fault or who made the repairs. Total cost of repairs will be determining factor for vehicle residual value.
Higher cost of repairs will lower vehicle resale value. In short, people dont like to buy cars involved in accidents. Especially cars involved in accidents with over $5,000 spent in repairs. Market usually value these vehicles lower in price. Newer and expensive vehicle will suffer most. You cant do much in this case, things happen and it is what it is.
How to React When Involved in a Car Accident Ontario
- Stay Calm and do not be confrontational with other drivers.
- Do not remove injured people, you can make things worse. Call 911 and wait for help to arrive.
- Stay silent and do not assume responsibility. Let police to do their job and decide who is at fault.
- Take pictures of accident scene.
In case your car is totaled and you need to buy another one:
– What to Check When Buying a Used Car
(If you are also looking for a fast and safe solution to sell your car, more here on “How To Sell Your Car Fast” ).
Comments: If you have any questions or suggestions related to this post or Used Car Toronto in general, don’t hesitate to use comment section below.
