Truck Accident Checklist

Key Takeaways

• The first minutes after a crash are for safety, not documentation. Get clear of immediate danger, address injuries, and call 911 before picking up a camera or a form.
• Collect the other party's information, photos, and witness contacts while you're still at the scene. Many of these cannot be recovered once you leave.
• Notify your company safety contact and insurer promptly. Late notification can complicate the claim process independently of what actually happened.

Safety first, documentation second

Check yourself for injury. Then check any passengers. If the vehicle can be exited safely, assess whether others involved need emergency attention and call 911 for injuries, fire, or a vehicle blocking a live lane that cannot be moved.

If the truck is stable and not creating an additional hazard, leave it in position until authorities arrive. Vehicle position is evidence. If you must move for safety — out of a live traffic lane, off a bridge — note where the truck was before you moved it and photograph the new position immediately.

What to collect at the scene

The other driver's full name, license number, vehicle registration, insurance company, policy number, and a contact phone number. If the other vehicle is commercial, note the carrier name and DOT number from the truck's door placard. Photograph rather than handwrite where possible — a phone photo of a license is more accurate than a transcribed version.

Get the police agency, officer name, and report number before you leave. The full report takes days; the number lets you request it. If police don't respond, ask dispatch whether your jurisdiction requires a self-filed crash report.

Witness information and photographs

Ask any bystanders whether they saw the incident. Get a name and phone number and note where they were standing. Witnesses leave — sometimes before police arrive. A number noted in your phone is recoverable; a witness who drove away unidentified is not. Don't ask what they think happened. Collect contact information only.

Photograph the scene before anything moves: both vehicles from multiple angles, skid marks, road conditions, traffic control signs, and cargo if visible. Start wide to establish context, then move to medium and close shots of damage. Take more than you think you need.

After you leave the scene

Preserve dash cam footage before the retention window closes. Write down your account of what you observed while memory is fresh — not an assessment of fault, just the sequence of what you saw and did, in order.

Keep a single folder for the incident: police report, photos, witness notes, your account, claim correspondence, and any coaching or review documentation that follows. A scattered set of files is harder to work with when the claim moves forward.

What has a window and what can wait

Post-accident steps vary significantly in urgency. Some — scene photos, other-party information — are only available in the next few minutes. Others can be completed over the following days. Treating every step as equally urgent leads to either rushed action on things that could wait or missed deadlines on things that couldn't.