The accident register and crash reporting

What counts as an accident

Everything below was checked against the official sources at the bottom of this page on November 4, 2026. Under 49 CFR 390.5T (the definitions in force), an accident is an occurrence involving a commercial motor vehicle on a highway, interstate or intrastate, that results in:

• a fatality,
• bodily injury to a person who immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene, or
• disabling damage to one or more vehicles that requires a tow truck or other vehicle to take them away.

It doesn't include an occurrence that only involves getting into or out of a parked vehicle, or only the loading or unloading of cargo. A scrape in a dock with no tow and no treated injury isn't on the register (your insurer may still want to hear about it).

What goes in the accident register

49 CFR 390.15 requires a register kept for 3 years after the date of each accident, with for each one:

• date, city or town (or the nearest one) and state,
• driver name,
• number of injuries and number of fatalities,
• whether hazardous materials, other than fuel spilled from the vehicles' own tanks, were released.

Keep copies of accident reports the state, another government agency or your insurer requires. FMCSA's guidance says you don't have to go out and get copies of reports state investigators or insurers prepare. You must make your accident records available to FMCSA and state or local enforcement within the time they ask and help in any investigation. A one-truck carrier with no crashes still keeps a register; ours is in the safety audit checklist.

At the scene and the testing clocks

• Warning devices: turn on the hazard flashers right away and place triangles as soon as possible, within 10 minutes: one about 10 ft from the truck on the traffic side, one 100 ft behind and one 100 ft ahead. On a divided or one-way road, put them at 10, 100 and 200 ft toward approaching traffic. Near a hill or curve, place one 100 to 500 ft back toward it (392.22).
• Post-accident testing (CDL drivers, 382.303): test for alcohol and drugs after any accident with a death. After an injury treated away from the scene or a disabling tow-away, test only if the driver gets a citation for a moving violation, within 8 hours (alcohol) or 32 hours (drugs). If the alcohol test isn't done within 2 hours, write down why; stop trying at 8 hours for alcohol and 32 for drugs and keep the record.
• Tests done by police with their own authority can count if you get the results. The driver must stay available for testing or may be treated as refusing.
• No alcohol for 8 hours after the accident, or until tested, whichever comes first (382.209).
• Hazmat: for a reportable hazmat incident, the person in possession calls the National Response Center at 800-424-8802 as soon as practical and within 12 hours, and files DOT Form F 5800.1 within 30 days (49 CFR 171.15, 171.16).

Our drug and alcohol checklist covers the rest of the testing program.

How crashes reach your FMCSA record

States report qualifying crashes to FMCSA from their crash reports: trucks over 10,000 lb, vehicles seating 9 or more and placarded hazmat vehicles, with a fatality, an injury treated away from the scene or a disabling tow-away. Those crashes feed the Crash Indicator BASIC in SMS for 24 months, whether or not you caused them. See CSA scores explained.

If the state's record is wrong (wrong carrier, wrong date, not a reportable crash), file a Request for Data Review in DataQs with the police report.

Crash preventability reviews

FMCSA's Crash Preventability Determination Program reviews crashes on or after Dec 1, 2024 in 21 types, including when your truck was struck in the rear or on the side at the rear, hit by a wrong-way driver, hit while legally stopped or parked, hit by an impaired, distracted, sleeping or medically impaired driver, hit by a driver who ran a light or sign, hit by falling cargo or debris, struck an animal, or any crash where video shows what happened.

• Submit a Request for Data Review in DataQs with the police report and any photos or video. Crashes older than 5 years aren't eligible.
• FMCSA says reviews take about 90 days on average. If it asks for documents and they don't arrive within 14 days, the request is closed.
• A not preventable crash is removed from your Crash Indicator calculation, listed in a separate table and noted on the driver's PSP record.

Dash cameras help here. Want a dispatcher who handles the paperwork while you drive? Dispatch is a simple percentage of each load, quoted for your truck. Call (747) 210-0227.

Questions carriers ask