What California Truck Drivers and Fleets Should Do After a Collision

After a California commercial truck collision, stop, check for injuries, and assess fire, leaks, and secondary-crash risk. Call 911 for emergency help. If only property is damaged and the truck can move safely, use the nearest location that does not obstruct traffic. A commercial motor vehicle stopped on the traveled portion or shoulder must use hazard flashers and applicable warning devices under 49 CFR 392.22.

Exchange driver, owner, vehicle, registration, and insurance information. Obtain witness contacts and document vehicle positions, cargo, spills, damage, tow status, injuries, and citations without interfering with responders. Preserve dashcam footage, electronic logging device data, and dispatch messages. Report observable facts. Do not sign a fault statement or promise payment at the scene.

Notify the carrier’s safety contact, then follow the commercial policy’s claim instructions. These notices do not replace California DMV Form SR-1. File SR-1 within 10 days when anyone is injured or killed, or property damage to any one person exceeds $1,000. A police, CHP, insurer, or carrier report does not replace it. Employer vehicles may also use California Vehicle Code section 16002’s reporting route.

Federal post-accident drug and alcohol testing is not automatic. A fatality requires testing for a covered surviving CDL driver who was performing safety-sensitive functions. Injury requiring immediate treatment away from the scene, or disabling damage requiring tow-away, requires testing only when the CMV driver receives the related moving-traffic citation. For alcohol, the citation must arrive within eight hours; for controlled substances, within 32 hours. The employer or designated employer representative arranges DOT testing. If an alcohol test is delayed beyond two hours, the employer records why and stops trying after eight hours. Controlled-substances testing stops after 32 hours. The driver must remain available, but emergency care cannot be delayed.

Carriers should preserve reports and original evidence. Qualifying accidents must be entered in the carrier’s accident register and retained for three years under 49 CFR 390.15.