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How Serious Must An Accident Be to Require Reporting to the Police?
Where a Person Was Injured or Where There Appears More Than $2,000 In Damage, Reporting the Accident Is Legally Required. Upon Conviction For Failure to Report An Accident a Driver May Be Fined Up to $1,000 Plus Victim Surcharge and Court Cost As Well As Receiving Three Demerit Points and Potentially Significant Insurance Rate Increases.
Understanding How to Defend a Traffic Ticket Charge of Failing to Report An Accident to Police Including Potential Penalties
After an accident, except for relatively minor incidents, the drivers involved in the accident are legally required to promptly report the accident to the police. If the drivers fail to report the accident to the police, the drivers may be charged for failing to do so.
The Law
How Long Do You Have to Report An Accident
When an accident involves injuries to a person, or where damage to the vehicles or other property appears likely to exceed two thousand ($2,000) dollars, the drivers are required by law to reported the accident to the police. This requirement is prescribed within section 199(1) or section 199(1.1) of the Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8 including the applicable regulation wherein it is stated:
Duty to report accident
199 (1) Every person in charge of a motor vehicle or street car who is directly or indirectly involved in an accident shall, if the accident results in personal injuries or in damage to property apparently exceeding an amount prescribed by regulation, report the accident forthwith to the nearest police officer and furnish him or her with the information concerning the accident as may be required by the officer under subsection (3).
Officer may direct person to report accident at another location
(1.1) If, on reporting the accident to the nearest police officer under subsection (1), the person is directed by the officer to report the accident at a specified location, the person shall not furnish the officer described in subsection (1) with the information concerning the accident but shall forthwith attend at the specified location and report the accident there to a police officer and furnish him or her with the information concerning the accident as may be required by the officer under subsection (3).
Where person unable to report
(2) Where the person is physically incapable of making a report and there is another occupant of the motor vehicle, the occupant shall make the report.
11. For the purpose of subsection 199 (1) of the Act, the prescribed amount for damage to property is $2,000.
As is shown above, following an accident involving any injuries or an accident involving damage that appears as likely to cost more than two thousand ($2,000) dollars to repair, or in value if unrepairable, all drivers involved in the accident are legally required to report the accident "forthwith" to the police. Interestingly, whereas section 199(1) and section 199(1.1) omit references to "highway", or any other definition as to where a reportable accident must occur, it appears that any incident must be reported if the injury or damage criteria are met. This view was expressly confirmed by the Court of Appeal in the case of R. v. Hajivasilis, 2013 ONCA 27 where it was said:
[4] I agree with the position advanced by the appellant. I would hold that the obiter in Shah limiting the operation of the "entire HTA" to "highways" is wrong and should not be followed. Many provisions of the HTA are by their terms limited to "highways". Other provisions, however, are not so limited. Nothing in the overall structure of the HTA or its purpose compels the reading of the word "highway" into sections in which it does not appear. Section 199 is one such section. I would hold that the reporting requirement in s. 199 generally applies even if the accident does not occur on a "highway" as defined in the HTA.
Accordingly, it is clearly stated that if the injury or damage criteria are met, the law requires that an accident is reported regardless of whether the accident occurred on private property such as, among other places, in a parking lot, in a residential driveway, or even in a household garage.
Defence Strategy
How to Fight a Failing to Report an Accident Charge
As stated within the law and summarized above, the offence of failing to report requires the failure to report an accident "forthwith" when the accident involves injuries or damage exceeding two thousand ($2,000) dollars. Accordingly, among other things, a successful defence strategy involves raising of reasonable doubt that:
- The person charged was involved in an accident;
- The person charged knew, or ought to know, that the accident involved injuries;
- The person charged knew, or ought to know, that the accident involved damage exceeding $2,000 in total; or
- The person charged failed to contact police in a "forthwith" manner.
Penalty
What Will Happen If Convicted of Failing to Report An Accident
The applicable fine upon a conviction for a violation of section 199(1) or section 199(1.1) is found at section 214(1) of the Highway Traffic Act wherein it is stated:
General penalty
214 (1) Every person who contravenes this Act or any regulation is guilty of an offence and on conviction, where a penalty for the contravention is not otherwise provided for herein, is liable to a fine of not less than $60 and not more than $1,000.
Accordingly, as is provided above, a driver convicted of failing to report an accident is subject to a maximum fine of one thousand ($1,000) dollars. Furthermore, on top of the fine, a mandatory victim surcharge is also applied as prescribed within the Victim Fine Surcharges, O. Reg. 161/00 and the driver will also accumulate three demerit points per the Demerit Point System, O. Reg. 339/94 as well as being subjected to the strong possibility of insurance rate hikes.
Summary Comment
Reporting an accident to the police is mandatory when a person is injured or there appears more than $2,000 in damage. Failing to report an accident may result in a fine of up to $1,000 plus statutory victim surcharge and court cost. Additionally, the convicted driver receives three (3) demerit points and likely incurs significant increase in insurance rates.