WELLINGTON COUNTY – The province has made changes to vehicle collision reporting when only property damage is involved.
Starting Jan. 1, it is only mandatory collisions involving no injuries to be reported to the police if the damage surpasses $5,000, up from the previous $2,000.
A news release from the province said this is to help “reduce the administrative burden on drivers, commercial vehicle operators and police services.”
“If it’s a minor collision, such as a fender-bender without any injuries, and the total damage to all vehicles involved is less than the $5,000, it will be deemed as non-reportable,” said Wellington OPP media officer Matthew Burton via email. “But to note, the $5,000 is a combined total threshold involving all vehicles involved in the collision.”
Burton added if any injuries occur, it must be reported to police and anyone involved in a collision is still required to exchange their information with everyone involved including driver’s license information, insurance information and phone numbers or emails.
He encouraged anyone involved in a collision to seek assistance from a repair shop for an initial assessment or quote.
“Every collision is different and internal damage from a minor external collision could lead to unexpected repairs,” Burton wrote. “If someone is involved in a collision and their vehicle isn’t driveable, that could be a good indicator that it’ll be deemed as a reportable collision.”
If people are unsure if the collision meets the threshold, Burton said they can attend one of the three collision reporting centres in Wellington County for assistance.
