Making a road traffic incident report
You can report a:
- collision
- driving offence
- collision that involved a driving offence
What we need from you
Depending on what you're reporting, there are some things to consider.
Reporting a collision
You do not need to report a collision to the police where:
- no one was injured, and
- you exchanged details with the other driver or property owner, and
- no driving offence took place
In all other cases, you must report a collision.
Please give us as much detail as you can when submitting your report. If you have good-quality video or an independent witness, it can help us decide:
- how the accident happened
- if any driving offences took place
Reporting a driving offence
To give us the best chance at taking action against an offender, we ask that you:
- give as much detail as you can
- provide good-quality video or photos of the incident (or have an independent witness)
- be willing to attend court
We’re unlikely to be able to take the case to court if you do not agree to attend.
If you'd like advice on preparing for court and what we can do to support you, read about going to court.
Time limits
If you're reporting a driving offence, there are also time limits to be aware of.
By law, within 14 days of a driving offence, we must send a letter to notify someone of intended prosecution.
We need to receive your report within seven days of the incident to give us time to do that. If you submit your report later than seven days, it's unlikely that we'll be able to take action.
What we do with your report
We review every report we receive. We use the information to:
- build our intelligence picture
- inform government policy
Depending on what you're reporting, there are different things we'll do.
Reporting a collision
We'll only contact you if we need to ask you something. For example, if we need a witness statement or for you to attend court.
If you reported a collision without an injury or a driving offence, we're unlikely to contact you.
Reporting a driving offence
If we have enough evidence to take further action, we can:
- send a warning letter
- ask the driver to attend a driver's education course
- send a fixed penalty notice
- take the case to court
Unless the case is going to court, we cannot provide you with an update about any action we took with your report.
Video or photo evidence
To give us the best chance of taking further action your evidence should:
- show the entire incident
- show a full vehicle registration number (or partial number if a collision)
- not contradict the information you give in your report
It’s important to note that:
- you need to keep the original video or photos for 12 months
- if you have shared your evidence online or on social media, remove it immediately
- if your evidence shows you committed an offence we may prosecute you as well (for example, driving while using a mobile phone)
Your evidence needs to show the offence you're reporting. For example, if someone runs a red light, you must show the vehicle crossing the stop line while the light is red. Or, if you're reporting road rage, your footage should start before the incident.
We are unable to enhance any of the videos or photos you send.
Any timestamps on videos or photos should match the date and time of the incident you give us in your report. If the case goes to court, you'll be asked to explain:
- any difference in timings or
- why your video or photo does not have a timestamp
Videos
Any video you upload should:
- show one minute before and one minute after the incident
- be unedited (other than trimming the video to show one minute before and after an incident)
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) say:
"If you operate a recording device in a public place, you may have obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It is in your interest to familiarise yourself, and comply with, any such obligations as apply to you. If you are in any doubt as to your obligations, please obtain independent legal advice to ensure you do not put yourself at risk of prosecution."
Photos
We can use photos to prove some offences. For example, if someone is driving while using a mobile phone. But you'd need a video to prove certain offences, such as someone running a red light.
CCTV
If you think CCTV may have captured the collision, you should first check if the road is managed by:
You can request CCTV footage from National Highways.
Requests for Highways traffic camera/CCTV footage need to be made within five working days of the incident. Footage is only kept for seven days.
Traffic Wales is unable to provide CCTV footage.
Otherwise, GOV.UK has guidance on how to request CCTV footage of yourself from any source.
When you report a collision, please tell us:
- where the camera is
- who owns it
- how to contact them
- what the footage shows
For driving offences, please note that there is often not enough time to obtain CCTV before:
- the owners delete the footage
- our seven-day deadline for being able to prosecute for a driving offence
Who will see my evidence?
If we have enough evidence to take a case to court, we share it with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). As part of court proceedings, the defendant will also see the evidence.
Your name may be disclosed to the suspect during the course of our investigation, such as during interview or at court. No other information will be disclosed other than what’s in your video and photo evidence.
We may use your video or photos to support police training or road safety schemes. At all times, we will follow data protection legislation.
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