How many miles do you drive in an average week? When you add up all the miles traveled by Pennsylvania drivers, it comes out to 99.9 billion vehicle miles. That is according to data collected by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
PennDOT also found that in 2023, there were 110,382 reportable traffic crashes. Every one of those crashes generated a police report. Understanding how to read a police report can help with your future claim or personal injury lawsuit.
Requesting a Report
The City of Philadelphia provides a portal to download the form you need to request a crash report. This was recently called a traffic accident report. After filling out the form, you mail it with the fee, a copy of your photo ID, and your affidavit. That affidavit is a separate form that establishes your eligibility to request the report. The fee is $25, and the report will take 2-3 weeks to be mailed back to you.
Reading Your Crash Report
When the police are called to the scene of an accident, they begin collecting evidence to detail what happened. All of that information will be written up in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Police Crash Reporting Form (AA 500).
The police manual that details how to fill out this form is issued by the police. Typically, it will take 10-14 days after the accident for that report to be ready and available for you to obtain a copy.
The AA 500 is a five-page report. This is what to look for in the report:
Page 1 (AA 500 1)
The first page of the report will provide the basic details of the crash, including the following:
- Time
- Date
- Location
- Number of people involved
This page is also where the officer adds their name, precinct, and badge number. That will be important when you need to call that office as a witness to corroborate the information they put in the report.
Unit Page (AA 500 2)
This page details a single vehicle or other road user involved in the accident. In addition to the driver’s contact information, the report will also detail the car’s owner if that differs from the driver. That is also important information for a future claim. This page also details the make and model of the car, whether the car was towed away, and the level of damage.
This page also contains information about suspected alcohol use, including test results. There is also an area to write out any vehicle code violations, which can be crucial in establishing who is at fault in the accident. This page must be filled out for every motorist involved in the accident.
Person Page (AA 500 3)
On this page, the office will detail the names, ages, and addresses of everyone involved in the accident, including drivers, passengers, and non-motorists. The details also include these people’s seating positions in the car, any safety equipment such as seat belts or car seats, and whether they remained in the car or were ejected in the accident.
Page Five (AA 500 4)
On this page, the police will detail the sequence of events that led to the accident, including the driver’s actions, road conditions, and weather.
Diagram & Narrative (AA 500 5)
This is the page where the police officer can diagram the crash. This is also where the officer lists the contact information for all the witnesses.
If the accident is considered minor and no police officer shows up, any motorist involved in the accident can fill out their own version of an accident report. That would be an AA-600 form that is only two pages long and allows you to detail your version of the event. It is important to have this record, but it is not considered the official version of events. That can only come from a police report.
Filing a Claim After a Philadelphia Car Crash
In the days following a severe car accident in Philadelphia, you could be dealing with recovering from injuries and dealing with repairs to your car. In extreme accidents, you might also need to replace that car. All of this means that you need to file an insurance claim. Your police report is an integral part of that claim, and the team at Shrager, Sachs, & Blanco can help you pull it all together. We have years of experience helping our clients negotiate with insurance companies or present a solid case to juries.
We’re standing by to help provide you with the guidance you need to make an informed decision. Call to set up the consultation to discuss what happened.
