The penalties for not filing the Accident and Insurance Report that is required to be turned in to the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division (DMV), a branch of the Oregon Department of Transportation, include your license being suspended and a fine.

According to the Oregon DMV you must file an Accident and Insurance Report form with DMV within 72 hours when:

1. Damage to the vehicle you were driving is over $1,500, or
2. Damage to any vehicle is over $1,500 and any vehicle is towed from the scene as a result of damages from this accident, or
3. Injury or death resulted from this accident, or
4. Damages to any one person’s property other than a vehicle involved in this accident are over $1,500.

Accidents in areas open to the public for the use of motor vehicles must be reported. Some drivers who are in accidents offer to fix the damage and try to get the other driver not to file a report. If you agree to do this, you are breaking the law if the amount of damage is more than $1,500.

You must file a report even if your vehicle was the only one in the crash. If you do not report an accident when required to do so, your driving privileges will be suspended.

Under Oregon law (Oregon Revised Statute 802.220) the Oregon DMV cannot provide you a copy of your accident report. So it is advisable for you to make a copy of your report (front and back to keep for your records.

If you were in a collision and the other party did not have insurance, you can report the collision to DMV. However, the accident may also go on your driving record, if you do not clearly indicate on the accident report that the accident does not meet mandatory reporting criteria.

You must fill out an Accident and Insurance Report form and return it to DMV even if a police officer files a report. A police report does not replace your requirement to file an accident report with DMV. You must do that yourself.

Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 810.460 and 811.725 to 811.735 lists information on the requirement to make the accident report and the penalties for not doing so. OR law states that failure to report the accident when required to do so is a Class B traffic violation. From what we have read a Class B traffic violation appears to come with a fine of up to $360.

ORS 811.740 notes that if a person gives false information on an accident report they are guilty of committing a Class B misdemeanor. A Class B misdemeanor in Oregon typically comes with a fine of up to $2000 and/or jail time of up to 6 months.

If you are an out-of-state resident, you are still required to file your own Accident Report with OR DMV if the accident meets the requirements listed earlier.

If your driving privileges are suspended by DMV, a notice of suspension should be sent to the address on your driving record. If you have a license in your possession, it must be returned to a DMV office when the suspension begins. After the suspension begins, you may not drive any motor vehicle on highways or premises open to the public.

The DMV notes that to reinstate a driving privilege that has been suspended, all legal obligations must be fulfilled and a reinstatement fee must be paid to DMV.

The Oregon DMV notes that they do not determine fault in an accident, but do post the auto accident to the driving record of those drivers required to report, unless the vehicle is parked. If you have more questions about the Accident Report that Oregon requires to be filed in certain situations and what happens if the report is not filled out and mailed in, you can contact the OR DMV. They note you can call the Accident Unit at (503) 945-5098.

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