SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – Many people think that the first thing you should do in a traffic accident is call 911. This is not always the case, especially if it is a minor accident.

The Springfield Police Department encourages drivers to learn about policies regarding reporting an accident without an officer involvement.

“If it’s a non-injury, both parties have insurance and there’s no sign of impairment, like drugs or alcohol, then citizens can pull over on the side of the road and exchange information, ie your name, address, phone number and insurance company information, and then one or both of them can come to police headquarters and fill out a citizen accident report and turn it in to get a report number,” said SPD Sergeant Ben Haines.

You are required by Missouri law to share information. This includes your name, full address, license plate number and driver’s license number. SPD also encourages you to exchange vehicle information and insurance information, even though it is not required.

“We’d rather have everyone change that because it’s easier. Accidents a lot of times, you know, it’s going to be a little bit of a criminal matter, to the extent that someone has broken a traffic law, but actually fixing your car is a civil matter. And the insurance companies, you know, the sooner you share information, the sooner people can get their cars into repair shops and get them fixed,” said Sgt. Haines.

Failure to change this information could mean penalties. Officers will collect this information whether you do it through a citizen crash report or an officer-on-scene report.

“You have to exchange lost mandates with the state. You are unlikely to be charged with leaving the scene. As long as you leave your name, phone number, you should be able to exchange driver’s license information with each other,” said Sgt. Haines.

SPD says they prefer not to send an officer to every crash, but it’s still important to go to headquarters and file an accident report for citizens.

“The reason we want these accident reports done is because our traffic engineers use that information to design our roads, and the state uses that information when they give grants and things, so the more accidents that are reported , the more likely we are more likely to get funding to help repair roads and supply officers for those intersections and roads that are maybe a little bit dangerous,” said Sgt. Haines.

Now, you can request an officer, but it won’t always happen.

“It depends on the situation. If there’s any kind of, like I said, if there’s any impairment, if somebody doesn’t have insurance, if they don’t have a driver’s license, if there’s any kind of disorder or anything like that, it’s going to come out. We may or may not take a report depending on what the incident is,” said Sgt. Haines.

Plus, you might be waiting longer.

“We’re going to wait a lot longer to get an officer and people are busy and have other things to do. Again, we do not determine the fault of the accident. We go out and we might write a citation for a traffic violation, but that citation doesn’t necessarily mean you’re at fault. The actual fault is determined by your insurance company,” said Sgt. Haines.

You should call the police if you notice signs of impairment, missing driver’s license, property damage outside of vehicles, or disturbances.

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