How to Report a Traffic Accident in London
London has one of the busiest road networks in the world. This inevitably leads to numerous car accidents and fender benders in the British capital that can range from minor dents to multiple car pileups. People involved in such situations need to report the car accident in an efficient manner so that they can deal with emergency workers, police and insurance companies. The Metro police has devised a straight forward method for reporting car accidents in London that is meant to facilitate drivers, insurance companies, emergency workers and police investigators. Drivers must make sure they follow all the steps properly so that they do not face issues with the police or insurance companies later on down the road when they try to claim money for damages or injury.
Instructions
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1
Initial assessment of situation
Once you get into a car accident, the first thing you need to do is check for injury to yourself, your passengers, the other driver or pedestrians. You should next check for damage to the vehicles. Make sure their is no leakage of fuel or sparking.
All the passengers and drivers should step aside from the accident to a safer distance if there is danger of an explosion. It is also a good idea to set up flares or warning signs if you have them to warn other cars. It is best to leave the cars as they are to help police and investigators but if you might find your self in the middle of traffic its best to move yourself out of harms way.
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2
Call Police and other emergency workers
The emergency number for London and the UK is 999. You can also dial 112.
If required you can call this number for assistance and an ambulance or police. If the police do show up at the scene you can relate the details to the officer and they will give you an accident report which you can use for insurance and other purposes.
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3
Exchanging details
If the accident is not of a significant nature and is minor you must exchange the following information with the other driver:
- Name
- Address
- If the driver of the car is not the owner, then the name and address of the owner is also required
- Registration number of the vehicle
- In case of injury or damage to property insurance details -
4
Reporting to Police
If the police were not called to the scene of the accident, you will need to report the accident in person to a police station within 24 hours. Insurance must be provided. If the other person does not provide their details then a driver must report the accident to the police so they can investigate. You can find locations for all police stations in London here.
You will be asked to fill out a accident report form completely and submit to the police. You can find the form here.
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5
Damage only
If the accident that you were involved in has no injury and is damage only there is a separate form that needs to be submitted to the nearest police station with in 24 hours. You can find the form here.
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6
Receipt
You should receive a receipt after you deliver the form. It will be stamped and dated withe police stations details. This will be required in case of insurance claims and the police investigation.
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7
Collision Report
In some cases you will need a collision report. This can only be issued by the Metropolitan police after the investigation is complete. You will need to fill out a form and submit to the police station to get your collision report. You can download the form here.
The form can be emailed to civilactionrs@met.police.uk
On the other hand, you can also mail in the form to the following address:
Civil Action Report Team
Traffic Criminal Justice OCU
P O Box 510
DA15 0BQ
To inquire about an ongoing collision report investigation you can call 0207 230 0565
