I was in a non-injury accident today with a four wheeler (I drive an
18 wheeler). When I called the police to report it they said: "as long
as no one was hurt and each party was exchanging info. they don't
respond". I have already reported this accident to my boss and he has
filled out an accident report with our company's insurance. My
question is this: Do I have to fill out any kind of paperwork with the
dps? Also, since no police report was taken will this accident show up
on my mvr?

---

Request for Question Clarification by nenna-ga on 22 Jul 2005 10:49 PDT

What state do you hold your driver's license in?

Nenna-GA

Good afternoon Plains and thank you for the question.

Texas statute states:

§ 601.004.  ACCIDENT REPORT.  

(a)  The operator of a motor vehicle that is involved in an accident
in this state Shall Report The Accident to the department not later
than the 10th day after the date of the accident if:

     (1)  the accident is not investigated by a law enforcement officer;  

     (2)  at least one person, including the operator, sustained:

          (A)  bodily injury or death;                                         

          (B)  property damage to an apparent extent of at least 
               $1,000.00             

(b)  If the operator is physically incapable of making the report, the
owner of the motor vehicle shall make the report not later than the
10th day after the date the owner learns of the  accident.

(c)  The report must be made in writing in the form  prescribed by the
department and must contain information as  necessary to enable the
department to determine if the requirements  for the deposit of
security under Subchapter F  do not apply because  of the existence of
insurance or an exception specified in this  chapter.  The operator or
owner shall provide additional information as required by the
department.

 (d)  A written report of an accident made to the department under
Section 550.061 or 550.062 complies with this section if that report
contains the information required by this section.

(e)  The department may rely on the accuracy of information contained
in the report unless the department has reason to believe
that the information is erroneous.

(f)  An accident report that is released for insurance purposes, other
than investigation of a specific accident, may show only an accident
for which the insured was issued a citation for a violation of
Subtitle C.

(g)  The department shall suspend the driver's license or 
nonresident's operating privilege of a person who fails to make a 
report as required by this section if another person sustained  bodily
injury, death, or property damage to the extent described by 
Subsection (a)(2)(B).  The suspension continues until a date set by
the department that is not earlier than the date the report is filed 
and not later than the 30th day after the date the report is filed.

(h)  A person commits an offense if the person fails to report an
accident as required by this section.  An offense under this
subsection is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $25.

(i)  A person commits an offense if the person provides information
under this section that the person knows or has reason to believe is
false.  An offense under this subsection is a misdemeanor punishable
by:

     (1)A fine not to exceed $1,000.00

     (2)  confinement in county jail for a term not to exceed  one year;      

     (3)  Both the fin and the confinement.                                


Source:  LegalTips.org
( http://www.legaltips.org/texas/TN/tn.007.00.000601.00.aspx )


You can find a PDF version of the report you need to fill out at: 

( http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/ftp/forms/st-2.pdf ).  

Once completed, it can be sent to:

Accident Records Bureau
Texas Department of Public Safety
P.O. Box 4087
Austin, TX  78773-0001

Please keep in mind that filing the report is important and extremely
helpful because it is used for many purposes, such as statistical
reports that identify locations with a large number of crashes and
improving dangerous highways and intersections.  They also aide in the
process of developing highway safety public information programs and
programs to save lives and reduce highway injuries.

= = = = = = = = = =

Driving records, also known as motor vehicle reports, are documents
that provide a history of violations, suspensions, and other details
about a person's driving history.  According to CarInsurance.com, an
MVR shows what tickets or accidents you were charged with.

Source:  CarInsurance.com
( http://www.carinsurance.com/Articles/content47.aspx )

If the police were not involved and you were not ticketed, I highly
doubt this accident would show up on your MVR.  However, if you are
still hesitant about this information, I suggest you contact the DMV
for the state that your driver?s license is issued in to request
additional information or a copy of your MVR.


If this answer requires further explanation, please request
clarification before rating it, and I'll be happy to look into this
further.

Nenna-GA
Google Answers Researcher

---

Request for Answer Clarification by plains-ga on 25 Jul 2005 16:42 PDT

Hi,

  I hold my lic. in TX.

---

Clarification of Answer by nenna-ga on 25 Jul 2005 18:04 PDT

The Texas DPS is the official agency that oversees the issuance of
drivers licenses, commercial licenses, ID cards, and handles other
related transactions and services.

( http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administration/driver_licensing_control/rolodex/search.asp
)

The Texas DOT is the official arm of the TX state government that
oversees the issuance of official vehicle documents such as Texas
vehicle titles and registrations. Certain procedures in Texas can be
completed online, while others precipitate a visit to your local
office.

( http://www.dot.state.tx.us/localinfo/localinfo.htm )

Thank you for the wonderful rating and tip.  If I can be of any other
help, please let me know!

Nenna-GA

Thanks!

Hi plains-ga,

Since I can't really answer your last question, I'm posting this as a
comment instead. Regarding that, I can't find anything in the law to
indicate that anything other than an actual violation would be posted
to your driving record, but I don't know and haven't been able to
locate information on whether or not someone else, like an insurance
company, could or would be able to insert info into your driving
record. I expect not, but am not sure. I'd suggest asking the
insurance company yourself, or asking your boss to inquire on your
behalf. I'm pretty sure he's at least as interested as you in the
answer!

As to whether you need to fill out any paperwork for DPS on the
accident, it would seem not, based on what you've written here.
Instructions for how to respond to/report an accident are contained in
Chapter 550, Subchapter A of the Texas Transportation Code, and say
what the officer told you over the phone, i.e. in accidents where
there is no injury you are obliged remain at the scene long enough to
exchange information, including name/address, registration number, and
insurance information with the other driver and vice versa.  I don't
see any requirement that you fill out any reports or do anything else.
 You can read the law for yourself, here:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/TN/content/htm/tn.007.00.000550.00.htm

Good luck,
Byrd-ga

If no accident report was filed and no police involvement then it will
not be reported back to Georgia and there will be no notation on your
MVR. Your problem will be with how your company records the accident.
If they determine that it was your fault then it will be listed as a
preventable accident on your DAC report. This can cause problems for
you if you seek employment elsewhere in the next three years since all
the major OTR companies use DAC.

Contact your company safety department and find out how it is being
recorded. The time to protest is now while you are still working for
them. In general it is usually better to repair anything under $100
yourself rather than making a report regardless of fault.