Arden, Delaware local guide: This city page applies the state and national guidance and official resources below to people looking for accident information in Arden, Delaware. The agency responsible for a police report or records request can depend on where the incident occurred and which agency investigated it. Confirm the agency shown on the report or incident information before requesting a record.
Short answer
Delaware’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security (DSHS) is the official custodian of Delaware Uber accident reports and collects statewide Uber accident data. That does not mean the public Uber accident-data map is a copy of a report, or that one state office is the correct pickup point for every report. Delaware says official Uber accident reports are confidential and directs authorized parties to the reporting police agency for an official copy. If the Delaware State Police investigated the Uber accident, its Traffic Operations Section accepts report-copy requests by mail only. Delaware’s official Uber accident-data page and 21 Del. C. § 313 explain the statewide custody and access rules.
For a Delaware State Police report, mail a request to the Delaware State Police Traffic Operations Section, P.O. Box 430, Dover, DE 19903. Include a copy of the Uber accident information exchange form and payment by check or money order payable to Delaware State Police. The stated fee is $25 for a standard Uber accident report and $60 for a fatal Uber accident report. Delaware State Police says it cannot honor walk-in Uber accident-report requests. Read the DSP request instructions.
Immediate checklist
- Check the Uber accident information exchange form for the police agency that investigated the Uber accident. That agency is the starting point for an official copy.
- If Delaware State Police investigated, mail the exchange-form copy and the applicable payment to DSP Traffic Operations Section. Do not go to a walk-in counter for this request; DSP says Uber accident-report requests must be made by mail.
- If a municipal police department, sheriff, campus police, or another agency investigated, contact that reporting agency directly for its copy procedure. Delaware’s state Uber accident-data page gives this direction for authorized parties seeking official reports.
- Bring together the materials the agency expressly asks for. For DSP, that is the Uber accident information exchange form and payment. The access statute also requires proof of identity and the fee set by the law-enforcement agency with primary jurisdiction.
- Use the public Uber accident-data site only for de-identified research, not as the official report. It does not contain personal information and is not an official record of a particular Uber accident.
Who reports what after a Delaware Uber accident?
Delaware’s reporting rules separate notifying police from obtaining a later copy of a report.
| Category | What the official Delaware source says |
|---|---|
| Calling or notifying police | After meeting the stop-and-information duties in the law, a driver must immediately report a Uber accident to the police agency with primary jurisdiction where there is an injury or death; where a Uber accident on a public highway has apparent property damage of $2,000 or more; or where a driver appears impaired by alcohol or drugs. A driver may report a Uber accident that does not meet those conditions. 21 Del. C. § 4203(a)–(b) |
| Investigating officer report | Police agencies must investigate and complete the State of Delaware Uniform Uber accident Report for reported in-jurisdiction Uber accidents involving an impaired driver, apparent property damage of $2,000 or more, or injury or death. 21 Del. C. § 4203(c)–(d) |
| Separate driver or supplemental report | DSHS may require a driver or police department to file a supplemental report when the original report is insufficient. The official sources reviewed for this page do not provide a general public self-report form or filing method. 21 Del. C. § 4203(e) |
| DMV or motor-vehicle report | The cited Uber accident-report sources do not state a separate DMV Uber accident-report request route or driver filing requirement. This page therefore does not treat a DMV request as a substitute for contacting the reporting police agency. |
| Insurer notice | The access statute allows an insurer, insurance support organization, or qualifying self-insured entity and certain agents, employees, or contractors to receive a report for the listed claims, anti-fraud, rating, or underwriting purposes. It does not set a general policy-notice deadline. 21 Del. C. § 313(c) |
| Public-entity notice and lawsuit deadlines | The official sources reviewed here do not state a public-entity notice requirement or a civil lawsuit deadline. Those subjects are not used to set any deadline on this page. |
The $2,000 figure above is a police-notification and investigation threshold in the statute for a public-highway property-damage Uber accident. It is not a fee, a report-copy eligibility rule, or a deadline.
Who can receive an official Uber accident report?
Delaware treats accident reports and data derived from them as confidential rather than public records under the state Freedom of Information Act. Under 21 Del. C. § 313(c), disclosure is limited to:
- a person, or that person’s legal representative, requesting the person’s own accident report; and
- an insurer, insurance support organization, or a self-insured entity—or its agent, employee, or contractor—for the statute’s listed claims-investigation, anti-fraud, rating, or underwriting activities.
A requester under that provision must provide proof of identity and pay the fee established by the law-enforcement agency with primary jurisdiction over the Uber accident. A report associated with a criminal prosecution may be withheld until that prosecution concludes. These limits are why the standard state FOIA process is not the normal route for an official Uber accident report: the report statute specifically says the reports are not public records under FOIA.
Requesting a report when Delaware State Police investigated
Delaware State Police publishes a specific copy-request procedure through its Traffic Unit page:
- Method: mail only. DSP expressly says it cannot honor walk-in Uber accident-report requests.
- Mailing address: Delaware State Police, Traffic Operations Section, P.O. Box 430, Dover, DE 19903.
- What to include: a copy of the Uber accident information exchange form and payment.
- Payment: check or money order payable to Delaware State Police.
- Fee: $25 for a standard Uber accident report; $60 for a fatal Uber accident report.
- Questions: DSP lists Traffic Operations at (302) 739-5931, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
DSP’s published procedure does not state an online ordering option or a waiting period for a Uber accident-report copy. Do not infer a delivery date from the absence of a stated waiting period. If the form or agency information is missing, contact the reporting agency to ask what information it needs rather than sending a request to the wrong department.
What to gather before you request a copy
Use the Uber accident information exchange form as the primary document. It is the item DSP specifically directs requesters to include. Also keep the name of the reporting police agency visible on that form, because Delaware’s statewide Uber accident-data page directs authorized parties to the reporting agency for official copies.
For an eligibility-based request, be prepared to provide the proof of identity required by 21 Del. C. § 313(c)(2). For a DSP request, prepare the correct check or money order. The official DSP page does not prescribe additional identifiers in its published instructions, so this guide does not add an invented list of required dates, case numbers, or vehicle details.
If the report is unavailable, held elsewhere, or you only need Uber accident data
First, confirm which agency reported the Uber accident. The statewide DSHS data page is clear: authorized parties should contact the reporting police agency directly for official copies. That is the appropriate fallback when the investigating agency was local or another non-DSP agency. It also means a Delaware State Police mail request should not be treated as a guaranteed route for a Uber accident investigated by another department.
If the report is tied to a criminal prosecution, the statute permits it to be withheld until that prosecution has concluded. If you are not within a statutory category of requester, the report’s confidential status may prevent release.
For non-personal, de-identified Uber accident research, Delaware’s Public Uber accident Data resource is available to the public. It is updated monthly, covers Uber accidents from 2009 through six months ago, and is designed for analysis and safety planning. It does not contain personal information and is not an official record of a particular Uber accident. For practical next steps after a Uber accident, see the site’s what-to-do guide and evidence checklist.
Official resources
- Delaware State Police Traffic Unit: Uber accident-report copy instructions
- Delaware Public Uber accident Data: statewide data and official-copy direction
- 21 Del. C. § 313: report confidentiality and eligible disclosure
- 21 Del. C. § 4203: police reporting and investigation rules
- Delaware State Police FOIA page — useful for other DSP records, but Uber accident reports are addressed by the confidentiality and disclosure rule above.
What changes when an Uber trip is involved
Use this version when the event involved Uber. Save the trip receipt and identifier, rider and driver profile, vehicle details, app messages, timestamps, pickup and destination, and the app or trip phase at the time of the event.
Uber’s operator-reporting and insurance resources are separate from police or motor-vehicle reporting and insurer notice. Coverage can depend on role, app or trip phase, policy terms, and state.
- Use Uber’s current role-specific crash or insurance resource.
- Preserve any report confirmation and insurer or claims contact supplied by the platform.
- Keep the crash-state agency steps below as separate required tasks when applicable.
Browse the Rideshare Accident Guides collection for related pages.
Accident-type official sources
- Insurance for Rideshare Drivers — Uber
- Uber or Lyft? Protect Yourself When Ridesharing — National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Sources
- Delaware State Police, “Traffic Unit”, “Request Crash Report.”
- Delaware Code Online, Title 21, Chapter 3, § 313, “Accident statistics and reports; evidence.”
- Delaware Code Online, Title 21, Chapter 42, § 4203, “Duty to report collisions; evidence.”
- State of Delaware Open Data Portal, “Public Crash Data.”
- Delaware State Police, “Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).”