Arrest Reports and Laws

When accident must be reported to police officer or law enforcement agency.


(1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, any accident occurring on a highway or upon premises open to the public resulting in injury or death to any person is subject to the reporting requirements under the following sections:
(a) The reporting requirements for drivers under ORS 811.748.
(b) The reporting requirements for occupants of vehicles in accidents under ORS 811.750.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, an accident occurring on a highway or upon premises open to the public resulting in damage to the property of any person in excess of $1,500 is subject to the following reporting requirements:
(a) The driver of a vehicle that has more than $1,500 damage must report the accident in the manner specified under ORS 811.748.
(b) If the property damage is to property other than a vehicle involved in the accident, each driver involved in the accident must report the accident in the manner specified under ORS 811.748.
(c) If a vehicle involved in the accident is damaged to the extent that the vehicle must be towed from the scene of the accident, each driver involved in the accident must report the accident in the manner specified under ORS 811.748.
(3) The dollar amount specified in subsection (2) of this section may be increased every five years by the Department of Transportation based upon any increase in the Portland-Salem Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for All Items as prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or its successor during the preceding 12-month period. The amount determined under this subsection shall be rounded to the nearest $100.
(4) The following are exempt from the reporting requirements of this section:
(a) Operators of snowmobiles and Class I, Class III and Class IV all-terrain vehicles.
(b) A law enforcement official acting in the course of official duty if the accident involved a law enforcement official performing a lawful intervention technique or involved a law enforcement official and a person acting during the commission of a criminal offense. As used in this paragraph:
(A) Law enforcement official means a person who is responsible for enforcing the criminal laws of this state or a political subdivision of this state and who is employed or volunteers:
(i) As a peace officer commissioned by a city, port, university that has established a police department under ORS 352.121 or 353.125, school district, mass transit district, county or service district authorized to provide law enforcement services under ORS 451.010;
(ii) With the Department of State Police or the Criminal Justice Division of the Department of Justice; or
(iii) As an investigator of a district attorney’s office, if the investigator is certified as a peace officer in this state.
(B) Lawful intervention technique means a method by which one motor vehicle causes, or attempts to cause, another motor vehicle to stop.
(5) The reporting requirements under this section are in addition to, and not in lieu of, the reporting requirements under ORS 811.720. [2009 c.490 §2; 2011 c.360 §18; 2011 c.506 §50; 2013 c.180 §56]