If you are involved in a Raleigh car accident, you need to know how to get and decipher the accident report as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, the accident report may be an inaccurate representation of the facts and material corrections must be made as soon as possible.
Bishop Law Firm represents victims of Raleigh’s car accident injury and we will not be paid unless you win. Call us now for a free case review or start online now.
How to find accident reports in Raleigh, North Carolina?
Many customers call us to exchange information on drivers we provide at the scene of the accident, but there is no actual police report.
Accident reports are usually completed after an accident by law enforcement officers on site.
Also read: What shouldn't be done after the Raleigh car accident.
If serious injuries are suffered in the accident, it may not be possible to get law enforcement officers to ask questions.
Without victims, officials must get a statement of fact from witnesses.
Without witnesses, this means that people seriously injured may eventually obtain a version of the incident from the negligent party in the accident report. This can lead to catastrophic effects.
Getting a vehicle accident report to view its content is a must.
If the Raleigh Police are on the scene, you can ask for your accident report online in the Raleigh Police Department crash report, or pick it up at the Raleigh Police Department at the Police Records Division, Police Department Headquarters, 6716 Six Fox Road Police Headquarters, 27615 Six Fox Road. Their phone number is 919-996-3325.
For the Raleigh Police Department crash reporting portal, you will need a report number, the driver's license of one of the vehicle drivers, or the VIN required (usually a vehicle identification number – usually on the vehicle registration card).
If your accident occurs on a highway and involves a North Carolina Highway Patrol, you can view it on the Public Safety Crash Reporting website. For the NC DPS website, you will need to report the number, party name, driver's license number or license plate number of the vehicle involved.
Additionally, you can mail the full form TR-67A or in person at Raleigh Central Services, 4121 New Bern Ave, Raleigh, NC 27616. The fee is $5.50, from the North Carolina Motor Vehicle (DMV) crash report. The collision reporting unit can contact it at 919-861-3068.
Please note that depending on the circumstances of the accident (initiating a criminal charge or being killed), it may take a lot of time for the law enforcement to complete the accident report. Victims need to be alert to obtaining reports.
When you receive an accident report containing an error message, you should contact the police who wrote this information immediately. Don't delay. Officers may attend 10-20 accidents a day, so they may soon forget about your accident.
Be prepared to provide you with any evidence to support your theory about why the accident report is wrong. For example, suppose an injured passenger is left in the accident report.
In this case, you will need to provide a medical record to prove that the passengers obtained because the accident involves the accident are treated.
Also read Raleigh car accident statistics and twenty tips to avoid Raleigh car accidents.
How to read the Raleigh Car Accident Report: NC DMV-349
NC DMV-349 is a standardized form used by law enforcement in Raleigh and throughout North Carolina to record vehicle-style ships.
The Raleigh crash report may be 2-3 pages (or more), depending on how many cars are involved in your accident. The instructions of the officer who completed the crash report were called the North Carolina Crash Reporting Directive Manual.
Below, we focus on two-car accidents.
Place
The location of the accident report section describes the road where the accident occurred and in what direction. Latitude and longitude allow victims to find the exact location of the accident (as well as the insurance regulator).
To date, we have not proposed a security regulator for the location description, but if the accident's location is 100% incorrect, it may cause problems later.
It is best to make corrections as soon as possible by contacting officials.
unit
Unit 1 and 2 columns contain information about the car involved in the accident: the driver's name, address, driver's license number and insurance information. Your unit number will be used in the rest of the report to specify your vehicle.
If the party makes its insurance void or changes the insurance provider, its insurance information may be incorrect. The victim may have to contact the oral sex party or previous insurance to determine if they have other coverage.
There will also be problems here when you encounter a crash. In a crash, the bad party’s name is not in the accident report unless there is witness or other form of evidence. Therefore, their insurance will not pay for the victim's harm.
Any evidence that the victim or witness’s crash driver should be provided to the police immediately so that it can be added to the accident report.
If the faulty driver cannot be found, the victim's own insurance (Uninsured Driver Insurance – UIM) will have to pay.
Other parts are mentioned here: If alcohol is suspected or breath test is performed, it will be noted under units of 37, 38 and 39. If alcohol is suspected or involved, the quote will allocate the numbers in this space.
An explanation of this number can be found in the North Carolina Crash Reporting Directive Manual (Page 41).
Drunk drivers often cause accidents, and you need to know if the driver who caused the accident is unpopular. The insurance company won't tell you.
Another highlight of the unit is #42 and #44, the vehicle can drive and estimate damage. Unfortunately, these estimates are usually incorrect.
For the completed officer, there is no crime because we admit that we don’t know how much it costs to repair by looking at the car. Insurance companies will try to rely on these wrong numbers. An actual estimate of vehicle damage needs to be obtained and provided.
Read Twenty Steps Also To Take Action After a Raleigh Car Accident
Drag information
The grid below the unit information indicates whether to drag unit 1 or unit 2 and who to drag it. A car towed out of the scene means that enough damage has been suffered in the accident that the vehicle cannot rely on.
Immediately under the towing information, all passengers of the car (even babies) should be listed. If the passenger is injured and is not listed in the accident report, corrections are required. Contact the officer who completed the accident report.
EMS
At the bottom of the first page (#46, #47), it discusses whether the EMS has arrived on the scene and whether the victim is riding in the EMS.
Shortly after the accident, victims who refuse to ride EMS and do not seek treatment on their own may prove their harm later. If you are injured, seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
Crash sequence
This section discusses the impact points on each vehicle and what they do when receiving the goods.
The Crash Reporting Directive Manual allocates each section of the vehicle, trailer and motorcycle numbers used in this section. The meaning of the number can be found on page 51 of the above crash reporting instruction manual.
Vehicle information
The estimated rate of impact is important. Two crash cars that crashed at 65 mph would be a very different accident than another car crashing into 65 mph, and a trailer at 20 mph can easily destroy a smaller car.
Speed and vehicle type are important aspects of a car accident.
In cases involving pedestrians, cyclists and motorcycle riders, the impression of tires before impact tells you the number of accidents. When does a dial driver see the victim first? How long did they respond? Are they reacting fast enough? Why don’t they see the victims? Are they using their phones or are they distracted?
Road information
His section discusses whether there are bridges, intersections, underground passages or lanes on the road at the scene of the accident. Are the roads straight, curved, multi-lane, paved with concrete or made of gravel?
Curved roads limit visibility of what is around curved. Do open parties ignore road conditions?
The relevant numbers in this section begin on page 61 of the manual.
Workspace and trailer information
In North Carolina, speeding in the workspace comes with additional fines and a possible revocation of a person's permit.
Vehicles with trailers traction more weight than sedan vehicles. An accident with a truck and a trailer may be equivalent to being hit twice.
chart
This diagram is helpful to visual learners. It explains all the cars involved and how they contacted when the accident happened. T-bone, frontal and back-end collisions tend to cause their own damage (but not always).
Injured victims consistent with their collision type have more fuel for fires in personal injury cases.
Narrative
The narrative is the most important part of the accident report. Even if the out-of-control party does not receive a vote, this description can tell the readers who caused the accident and how.
That being said, a bad narrative can cause problems in a problematic personal injury case to say the least.
An example of narrative: Unit 2 (the driver discussed on page 1 of the report) is heading straight ahead. Unit 1 cannot yield (what fails to produce is a traffic violation) and evacuated it to the intersection.
We know from the narrative alone that Unit 1 is a failure party because they fail to generate the right of way.
eyewitness
If the officer speaks to an eyewitness who provides detailed information about the accident, their name, address and phone number should be listed here. Obtaining statements from these witnesses as soon as possible after the accident can help consolidate the evidence of a breach of party responsibility.
Traffic Violations
If the dialer receives their tickets in the accident, it will be listed here. However, this list often does not include all violations. For example, traffic violations involving drunk driving will carry criminal charges not listed in the accident report.
Completed officials
This is the official who completes your report and you will contact to seek corrections.
Do you need a Raleigh car accident lawyer?
If you were injured in a Raleigh car accident without your own fault, there could be a Raleigh personal injury case. If there are legal and significant errors in the Raleigh accident report, they must be corrected. Raleigh police may not be inclined to make these corrections without evidence supporting the changes.
Raleigh’s car accident lawyers can help you collect necessary evidence, including witness statements, photos of accident scenes, and photos of car damage in an attempt to correct the report.
After correcting the crash report, the Raleigh Car Accident Attorney can make your needs to the insurance regulator and have evidence to support your claim for compensation for the accident injury.
Also read: What does a Raleigh Car Accident Lawyer do? and Raleigh car accident injury.
Car accident lawyer at Bishop Law Firm can help if you are injured in a car accident without your own fault. We offer free car accident case reviews and we have no fees unless you win. Call us now at 919-615-3095 or start a free case review online.
