After a car accident, the law requires you to stop and exchange identifying details with every other driver involved: full legal name and address, driver’s license number, insurance company and policy number, vehicle registration, license plate, and the vehicle identification number. That roadside exchange of information after a car accident is both a legal duty and the raw material every insurer and attorney will ask for first. Driving off without it is commonly charged as hit and run.
What to Get From the Other Driver
Collect enough that anyone later involved in the claim can identify who was there and reach them. Pull these details directly from the other driver’s documents rather than relying on what they tell you:
- Full legal name and address, taken from the driver’s license.
- Driver’s license number and issuing state.
- Insurance company name and policy number, from the insurance ID card (most insurers now offer a digital version through a mobile app).
- Vehicle registration number, usually kept in the glove compartment.
- License plate number and state.
- Vehicle identification number (VIN), visible on the dashboard near the windshield or inside the driver-side door jamb.
Use your phone to photograph each document rather than copying numbers by hand. A photo of the license, insurance card, and registration eliminates transcription errors and timestamps the record.
Documenting the Scene
While you have your phone out, photograph the damage to every vehicle, the surrounding road, traffic signals, and any skid marks. Digital images carry embedded metadata, including GPS coordinates and exact timestamps, that can later confirm when and where they were taken.
Write down or voice-record the time, date, and precise location of the crash. If law enforcement responds, note the officer’s name, badge number, and the accident report number.
Extra Details for Crashes With a Commercial Truck or Bus
When a commercial vehicle is involved, collect everything above plus a few carrier-specific items. Federal regulations require commercial motor vehicles to display the carrier’s legal or trade name and its USDOT identification number on both sides of the vehicle in letters readable from 50 feet away.1eCFR. 49 CFR 390.21 – Marking of Self-Propelled CMVs and Intermodal Equipment
Photograph those markings. The USDOT number is the key to pulling the carrier’s safety record, inspection history, and insurance information through the federal SAFER database. Capture any Motor Carrier (MC) number displayed as well. Record the driver’s name separately from the company name on the truck, because the driver is often an employee or independent contractor rather than the vehicle’s owner, and that distinction matters when determining who can be held liable.
The Legal Duty to Stop and Share Information
Every state requires drivers involved in a collision to stop at the scene and exchange identifying information. Leaving without doing so is commonly charged as hit and run. For property-damage-only crashes, hit and run is typically a misdemeanor carrying fines and potential jail time. When someone is seriously injured or killed and the driver flees, most states escalate the charge to a felony with multi-year prison exposure.
The duty applies regardless of fault. Even if you’re certain the other driver caused the crash, driving away exposes you to criminal charges on top of any civil liability. Giving your information to a responding officer does not automatically satisfy your separate obligation to share it with the other driver. One state’s statute, for example, explicitly requires drivers to fulfill their exchange duties with the other party before or in addition to notifying police.
Penalties can reach beyond criminal fines. Many states authorize driver’s license suspension for failing to comply with post-accident identification requirements, with suspension periods that vary by jurisdiction.
Hitting a Parked Car or Unattended Property
The duty doesn’t disappear because the other driver isn’t around. If you hit a parked car, an unattended vehicle, or someone’s fence or mailbox, virtually every state requires you to make a reasonable effort to locate the owner. When you can’t find them, leave a written note in a conspicuous place on the vehicle or property with your name, address, phone number, and a brief explanation of what happened. Many states also require you to report the incident to local police within a set timeframe, often 24 hours.
Driving away from a parked car you struck is still hit and run. The fact that it happened in a parking lot does not reduce the legal exposure, and security cameras and bystander footage make these cases easier to prosecute than most drivers assume.
When the Other Driver Won’t Cooperate or Leaves
Sometimes the other driver refuses to hand over their license or insurance card, or leaves before you can get anything. The single most important thing you can do is capture their license plate number, because law enforcement can trace the registered owner from that alone. Photograph the plate, the vehicle’s make and model, and as much identifying detail about the driver as you can.
Call 911 immediately. A responding officer has the authority to require the other driver to produce identification, and the police report will document whatever information the officer collects. If the other driver has already left, the police report creates an official record that you attempted to comply with your own exchange obligations.
Getting Witness Information Before They Leave
Witnesses are not legally required to stay at an accident scene the way drivers are, which is exactly why you should approach them quickly. Their accounts provide an independent perspective on disputed facts like speed, signal compliance, and which driver crossed the center line.
Get each witness’s full name, phone number, and email address. Ask briefly what they saw and note their vantage point. Useful witnesses include pedestrians on the sidewalk, other motorists who stopped, passengers in any vehicle involved, and employees of nearby businesses who may have seen the collision through a window. Memories fade within days, and people become harder to locate as time passes. If someone is willing to give a quick recorded statement on your phone, that is better than a written note.
If a cooperative witness later becomes unreachable once a case is filed, they can be compelled to testify through a subpoena. Under the federal rules, a subpoena can require a person to attend a deposition or produce documents, provided the deposition takes place within 100 miles of where the witness lives or works.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 45 – Subpoena
Filing an Accident Report With the State
Beyond the roadside exchange, most states require you to file a formal accident report with the state’s motor vehicle department when property damage exceeds a certain dollar threshold or when anyone is injured. Those damage thresholds typically fall between $500 and $1,500 depending on the state, and any crash involving injury or death triggers a mandatory report regardless of the dollar amount. Filing deadlines vary but commonly range from 10 to 30 days after the crash.
This report is separate from any police report the responding officer files. Even if police documented the scene, the state may still require you to submit your own report, and failing to file can result in license suspension in some jurisdictions. Check with your state’s department of motor vehicles for the specific threshold, deadline, and form.
If a Lawsuit Follows
The information you gather at the scene is the starting point. If the dispute moves into litigation, a second, more formal exchange happens through discovery, where attorneys use written questions under oath, document requests, requests for admission, and third-party subpoenas to compel the production of everything relevant to the case. That is also when the duty to preserve evidence kicks in, so hold on to your photos, messages, and any damaged property until your attorney tells you otherwise.