Car Accident Reports in New Jersey: Are They Public Record?

Reporting car accidents is a part of life in New Jersey. In fact, drivers in New Jersey are required by law to file accident reports following an accident that involves injuries, deaths or more than $500 in property damage.

In order to submit a claim with your insurance company after an accident in NJ, you will need a car accident report. As far as if car accident reports are public record in NJ, they are generally considered so, which means interested parties can access them.

Continue reading for more on car accident reports in New Jersey. For those who need legal help, the car accident lawyers at Brandon J. Broderick can help. With experience and expertise, our lawyers can assist you in recovering damages in your accident.?

Police Reports vs. Self-Reported Car Accidents

You have 10 days to file an accident report in New Jersey if it involves an injury or more than $500 in property damage. After an NJ accident, we encourage you to dial 911 to report the accident to the police, regardless if it is minor or serious. A police officer will arrive and conduct an investigation and file an accident report, and do so within 10 days, as required by state law. The police report is the responsibility of their office to process.

The driver is required to submit a written report to the NJ Department of Transportation, known as the New Jersey Self-Reporting Crash Form (SR-1), if the police did not respond to the crash scene. It is necessary to report a car collision to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission if the accident caused property damage and no police were called to the scene. As previously mentioned, this must be done within 10 days of the accident.

Details Included in a Car Accident Report

When filing a car accident claim in New Jersey, a police accident report may be very beneficial to your case. It will provide details about the accident and all persons involved, such as:

• Crash date, time, and place
• Direction and speed of both vehicles
• Names of everyone involved
• Vehicle information and identification numbers
• Photos of the scene and property damage
• Description of any injuries (if applicable)
• Witness and driver statements
• Description of weather and condition
• Traffic citation info (if cited)
• Police officer's opinion on who was at fault

When handling a claim, an auto insurance company will request a copy of the police report. This will be included in their report to assign fault and liability.

Requesting a Copy of Your Car Accident Report In NJ

In New Jersey, motorist and police-submitted car accident reports are considered public documents. So, anyone – including the victims, law enforcement, and insurance company reps – can access them.

To request a copy of the accident report, here are the ways to do so:

• For copies of accident reports that are non-toll road accidents, you can call the New Jersey State Police at (609) 882-2000 (ext. 2234). Provide details about the accident so they can find the record and you can request a copy be mailed to you, but a fee may apply.
• If the accident happened on the New Jersey Turnpike, you can get a copy of the report by emailing [email protected] or calling (732) 442-8600, ext. 2431. To obtain an electronic copy of the report, use the Crash Report Requests system operated by the New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The only way to obtain the report in the event of a fatal car accident is to complete the OPRA Form.

You can strengthen your case by providing the insurance company with a copy of your car accident report.

Contact Us If You've Been Involved in an Accident & Were Injured

The team at Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law can help you gather all the correct information to ensure you receive proper compensation for your injuries. Do not try to engage with an insurance company on your own. In most cases, even if it's your own insurance company, you will be offered inadequate compensation and be pressured to accept it. Let us do this for you. You are entitled to fair compensation and we will get it.

Call us today to schedule an appointment to speak with a lawyer.