WisDOT Goes Paperless in 2017 for Self-Reporting Car Accidents

In the past, if the police department was contacted at the time of a car accident, the law enforcement officer who responds would complete the crash report. If a reportable accident was called in after the fact, police would hand the driver a paper form to self report the accident. Effective Jan. 1, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation ended the self-reporting paper form and has gone to an electronic form for the Driver Report of Crash. The form can be accessed at wisconsindot.gov/Pages/safety/crsh-rpt/default.aspx. “The change of the Driver Report of Crash to an exclusively online form will save both time and resources. It also will help WisDOT efficiently collect crash information and data, which are critical for planning enforcement, education and engineering strategies to improve traffic safety,” said David Pabst of the WisDOT Bureau of Traffic Safety. The electronic form can be done on a smart phone as well as a computer with internet connection. For those who do not have access to either, the DOT advises drivers to use their local public library, where computer access is free and available to everyone.