Connecticut Rideshare accident Reporting Requirements: Police, Driver, and Motor Vehicle Reports

Short answer

In Connecticut, the standard statewide police rideshare accident-report form is the Connecticut Uniform Police Rideshare accident Report (PR-1). It is an investigator’s report, not a form that an ordinarily involved driver sends to the DMV. Under Connecticut General Statutes § 14-108a, when a police officer, agency, or other person who investigates in the regular course of duty investigates a rideshare accident involving a death, an injury, or more than $1,000 in property damage to any one individual, that investigator must complete and send the uniform report to the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) within five days after completing the investigation.

The Connecticut State Police says a rideshare accident should be reported to police and says to call 911 in an emergency. If a Connecticut State Police trooper investigated, the State Police has a specific record-access path. If another agency investigated, begin with that agency’s records unit; the State Police portal is expressly for Connecticut State Police incident reports, not a general statewide report counter.

Immediate checklist

1. Address immediate safety first. If there is an emergency, call 911. If it can be done safely, move a vehicle out of the travel portion of the roadway; the State Police describes these steps in its motor-vehicle accident FAQ.
2. Report the rideshare accident to police. The State Police FAQ says a rideshare accident should be reported to police. A responding agency may investigate and create the official report.
3. Keep the identifiers you are given. Save the investigating agency or troop, report/case number, date and time, location, vehicle plate information, and the names of the involved parties. These details help identify the right record later.
4. Do not send yourself a PR-1 as a routine driver filing. CTDOT publishes the PR-1 as the Connecticut Uniform Police Rideshare accident Report, and the current statute assigns completion and forwarding of the qualifying report to the investigator.
5. Use the separate state-fleet process if you were driving a state-owned vehicle. That employee procedure has its own form and timing described below.

For a practical list of photographs, information, and documents to preserve, see the car-accident evidence checklist.

Who reports what in Connecticut

The police report is different from a driver or DMV filing

Section 14-108, titled “Report of accidents,” is repealed. Section 14-108a puts the qualifying-report duty on the investigator, directs CTDOT to send school-bus rideshare accident-report copies to DMV, and allows DMV to investigate an accident reported under that section. Those are agency functions, not a general driver instruction to mail a rideshare accident report to DMV.

CTDOT’s PR-1 materials page calls it a Uniform Police Rideshare accident Report and provides a static, non-fillable version, a fillable-version link, and investigator training materials. That does not change who files it under the statute.

For a state-owned vehicle, DAS directs the employee to complete its writable PDF accident report and email Fleet Operations within 48 hours, copying the supervisor. This is a state-fleet procedure, not a general driver self-report. DAS also says to bring a damaged DAS Fleet Vehicle to a Fleet Operations garage within 72 hours.

Insurer, public-entity, and court deadlines are separate

The official sources here do not provide a general statewide deadline for insurer notice, public-entity notice, or a lawsuit. The police-report and state-fleet timing above are not deadlines for those separate matters.

How to find or request the record

If Connecticut State Police investigated

Start with the DESPP Reports and Records page. DESPP states that this page provides access to Connecticut State Police Incident Reports.

For a recent rideshare accident, a party involved may be able to obtain a free Accident Information Summary through accidents.despp.ct.gov. DESPP describes that summary as preliminary information about the parties, vehicles, insurance information, and a brief rideshare accident summary. DESPP identifies it as a preliminary summary rather than the official accident report. DESPP says most summaries are available to parties involved for 30 days from the rideshare accident date. Connecticut statutes may restrict information in the summary; where information is restricted, DESPP directs the person to visit the State Police troop in the area of the rideshare accident.

For the official State Police report, DESPP says many simple motor-vehicle rideshare accident reports may be purchased and downloaded through BuyCrash within 30 business days of the rideshare accident. This commercial portal is included here only because DESPP’s official page directly designates it. For reports that are not available online within 30 days, serious-injury rideshare accidents, fatalities, and other investigative reports, DESPP directs requesters to its GovQA customer portal.

DESPP says requests submitted through GovQA are processed in received order and that its statutory nonrefundable search fee is $16, payable before a search for case-related information. The page also notes that third-party online convenience fees may apply. The $16 amount is described as a search fee, not a promise that a report will be produced.

If a different agency investigated

Do not assume a State Police search will cover a rideshare accident investigated by municipal police, campus police, a tribal agency, or another non-State-Police agency. Begin with that investigating agency’s records contact and give it the identifiers you saved. The State Police page’s scope is State Police incident reports.

For a Connecticut public agency, the Freedom of Information Act says maintained records are public unless an exemption applies and must be kept at its regular office or place of business. See CGS § 1-210. Ask the investigating or custodial public agency; a tribal agency may have its own records procedure. Restrictions or exemptions may affect availability.

Documents and identifiers to gather

Keep a simple folder—paper, phone notes, or both—with the following:

• the report, case, or incident number, if one was provided;
• the name of the investigating agency, officer, or State Police troop;
• rideshare accident date, approximate time, and exact location or nearest cross streets;
• vehicle information and plate numbers for involved vehicles;
• names and contact information exchanged at the scene; and
• any State Police Accident Information Summary, receipt, or GovQA request confirmation.

These records help distinguish a preliminary information summary from the official report and help you direct a request to the correct agency. More immediate post-rideshare accident steps are available in What to Do After a Rideshare accident.

If the report is unavailable or held elsewhere

If a State Police Accident Information Summary does not show the needed information, DESPP says restricted summaries may be obtained by visiting the State Police troop in the area where the rideshare accident occurred. If the official State Police report is not in BuyCrash after the period described by DESPP, use DESPP’s GovQA process rather than repeatedly searching the preliminary-summary site.

If the police agency was not State Police, request the record from the investigating agency instead. Identify the agency, ask its records unit how it accepts report-copy requests, and provide the rideshare accident identifiers. If it does not hold the record, ask which agency has custody.

Official resources

• Connecticut General Statutes § 14-108a — uniform investigation of accident report
• CTDOT PR-1 and PR-2 materials
• Connecticut State Police motor-vehicle accident FAQ
• DESPP State Police reports and records
• DAS procedure for state-owned vehicle accidents
• Connecticut Freedom of Information Act § 1-210

Sources

1. Connecticut General Statutes § 14-108a, Connecticut General Assembly.
2. Crash Data CI&P — Current PR-1 and PR-2 Materials, Connecticut Department of Transportation.
3. Reports and Records, Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.
4. Frequently Asked Questions — Motor Vehicle Related, Connecticut State Police.
5. Report State Owned Vehicle Accidents — How To, Connecticut Department of Administrative Services.
6. Connecticut General Statutes § 1-210, Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission.