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FAQ - Information on Making a Traffic Accident Report
What is an injury accident?
1 An injury accident is defined as one in which:
a at least one party involved in the accident is conveyed to hospital from the accident scene by an ambulance; or
b if conveyance to hospital is done through other transport, the party is subsequently hospitalised, or given outpatient medical leave of 3 days or more; or
c nobody is conveyed to hospital from the accident scene but latent injury develops later and requires hospitalisation, or outpatient medical leave of 3 days or more.
2 In respect of (b) and (c), the medical leave must have been granted by a medical practitioner who has been duly registered under the Medical Registration Act, Cap 174.
3 Any accident which does not fall within the definition of (a), (b) or (c) is considered a non-injury accident.
Explanations to Definition
4 In respect of definition (a),
as long as one or more party is conveyed to the hospital by an ambulance, it is considered an injury case, regardless of whether the person conveyed is subsequently warded, given outpatient treatment or discharged without any treatment. An ambulance and not some other vehicles must do the conveyance.
5 In respect definition (b),
if the party is conveyed to hospital by a taxi or vehicles other than an ambulance, he/she must be either warded, or given outpatient medical leave of 3 days or more for the case to qualify as an injury accident.
6 In respect of definition (c), the latent injury which subsequently develops must be a direct result of the traffic accident and not a consequence of some other incidents. Only a medical practitioner can determine whether the injury is caused by the accident.
Once the person is hospitalised, it becomes an injury accident, regardless of whether the person is warded for 1 day or 1 year.
What should I do if my vehicle is involved in a non-injury accident?
In non-injury traffic accidents, drivers must provide their personal particulars such as their names, addresses and vehicle registration numbers to the other party . Anyone who refuses to do so at the scene, must himself lodge a police report within 24 hours.
Otherwise, he will be committing an offence under the Road Traffic Act which is punishable with a fine of up to $1,000 or a jail term of up to 3 months. The police report would enable Police to conduct investigations into the accident to determine if any traffic violation has been committed.
You might also wish to note that on 1 May 99, Traffic Police and the General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA) implemented a scheme to manage non-injury traffic accident reports. Under this scheme, motorists involved in a traffic accident need only lodge a Police report for the following categories of traffic accidents:
Injury case;
- Non-injury case involving a government vehicle or damage to government property;
- Non-injury case involving a foreign vehicle;
- Non-injury case involving a pedestrian or cyclist;
- Non-injury "hit-and-run" case.
For cases where a Police report is not required, motorists involved in non-injury traffic accidents are advised to lodge a General Insurance Association (GIA) report with their insurance company. The insurance company will determine the liability and fault after its investigation into the accident. If a traffic violation is suspected, the insurance company will also bring this to Traffic Police's attention so that we can further look into the matter.
Drink driving, driving without licence, driving without insurance coverage, and driving whilst under disqualification are considered serious violation cases. Hence, if a motorist suspects that the other party in the traffic accident has committed one of these offences, he/she should call Police immediately to report the matter.
What are government vehicles?
1 Government vehicles are:
- all QX and MID plate vehicles, and
- all vehicles belonging to the Prime Minister's office, Judiciary, and all government ministries (even those with non-QX and non-MID plate).
All QY plate vehicles and vehicles belonging to statutory boards are NOT considered government vehicles.
2 For government vehicles using non-QX and non-MID plates, the onus is on the driver of the government vehicle to inform the other party that the vehicle belongs to the government. If the other party is not informed, he/she will not be penalised for not lodging a traffic accident report with the Police.
What are foreign vehicles?
They are vehicles:
- registered in another country (e.g. Malaysian vehicle JBT 1234),
- owned by visiting forces present in Singapore,
- with prefixes USN or USG on the number plates, or
- insured by a foreign insurance company (e.g. domiciled outside Singapore).
All diplomatic vehicles (e.g. S 1011 CD or S 1011 CC) are NOT considered foreign vehicles.
What are non injury hit and run cases?
The following are non-injury "hit-and-run" cases:
(a) where one or more parties had driven or ridden off immediately after the accident without alighting to inspect the damage or to exchange particulars;
(b) where one or more parties had abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot immediately after the accident;
(c) where a parked vehicle is found damaged by accident collision and the party responsible had not left behind his contact number or particulars for claims settlement ; (a vehicle damaged by vandals or by "killer-litter" cannot constitute a hit-and-run case)
Example 1
Subject A parked his car at a HDB car park overnight and discovered the bumper dented the next morning. He has no clue as to the identity of the culprit. This is a "hit-and-run" case.
Example 2
Same scenario as above, except that a note has been left on the windscreen stating that vehicle B (with registration number) was the offending vehicle. The person who left the note had apparently witnessed the collision. Regardless of whether the person who left the note had also left his contact number, this is a "hit-and-run" case.
Example 3
Same scenario as in Example 1, except that the driver who caused the damage had left his particulars or contact number for claims settlement. This is not a "hit-and-run" case .
There will be instances where parties to a non-injury case have stopped and exchanged particulars but cannot agree on the amount of compensation. In such instances, the fact that an agreement cannot be reached does not qualify the case as a "hit-and-run".
What should I do if the other party in the traffic accident commits a traffic offence?
If there are reasons to believe that the other party in the traffic accident is under the influence of alcohol, driving without licence/insurance coverage/under disqualification, please call the '999' emergency service. Police will attend to the matter immediately.
For other types of traffic offences, motorists can write in to Head Investigation, Traffic Police Department, No. 10 Ubi Ave 3, Singapore 408865, with details of the alleged violation.
What should I do if I have witnessed a traffic accident?
If you have witnessed a traffic accident, you should come forward to help the Police in their investigations. This is especially if someone was injured or killed.
Note down the followings:
- registration number of the hit-and-run vehicle,
- colour, make and model of the hit-and-run vehicle,
- race and sex of the driver, and
- direction of the vehicle was last seen heading towards.
Then lodge a report at any Neighbourhood Police Centre / Post . You can also call the Traffic Police Hotline at 1800 - 547 1818.
Can I amend my traffic accident report?
Yes, you can. If the report is lodged with your insurance company using the GIA form, you can obtain an addendum from your insurance company and submit your amendment using this form to GIA Record Management Centre at 48 Amoy Street Singapore 069874.
If the report is lodged with Police, you can amend it by:
a) filling in an amendment form available at the Traffic Police Department at 10 Ubi Ave 3, Singapore 408865; or
b) writing to the Head Investigation, Traffic Police, stating your amendments.
We would like to advise you give you should give an accurate account of the accident in the first instance. While amendments are accepted, they may give rise to adverse inferences in civil trials or civil claims.
How do I file an insurance claim?
After you have lodged the non-injury accident report with your insurance company or Police, you can file an insurance claim on your own or through one of the followings:
- your insurance company,
- your motor vehicle workshop, or
- an attorney.
How can I make a motor accident claim?
Motorists or passengers who are injured or killed in a traffic accident can make a motor accident claim.
Please follow this link to find out the procedures.
How can I obtain the other party insurance particulars?
You can obtain the other party's insurance particulars from the Land Transport Authority at 10 Sin Ming Road. The fee is $5.15 (GST inclusive).
The enquiry number is 1800 - 553 5229.
How can I obtain a copy of the other party accident report?
Only a person directly involved in the accident may buy a copy of the accident report lodged by the other parties.
If the accident report is lodged with your insurance company, apply for a copy through the GIA Record Management Centre at 48 Amoy Street Singapore 069874. The fee is $27 per copy. The enquiry number is 6324 7447.
If the accident report is lodged with the Police, you can apply for the copy personally, or through an attorney, to the Traffic Police Department at 10 Ubi Ave 3 Singapore 408865.
How can I apply for the result of insurance claim / outcome of Police investigation?
If the non-injury traffic accident report is lodged with your insurance company, you can write in to the insurance company against which you are making a claim.
For outcome of Police investigation on non-injury traffic accident, you can apply for this personally, or through an attorney, to the Traffic Police Department at 10 Ubi Ave Singapore 408865.
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