What to do after a car accident in Texas

What the law says

Where the rules apply. Under section 550.001 of the Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 550 applies only to highways and other public places, to a business’s private access ways and customer parking, to garages and lots that charge for parking, and to roads owned by a water control and improvement district. It does not cover private residential property.

The duties start the moment a crash happens. Under section 550.021 of the Texas Transportation Code, a driver in a crash that hurts or kills someone, or is reasonably likely to, must stop at once at the scene or as close as possible. A driver who drove on must go back. They must check whether anyone needs aid, and stay until they have done what section 550.023 requires, set out below.

A crash that only damages another vehicle with someone driving or tending it carries the same duty to stop and stay, under section 550.022. Freeways in metropolitan areas have an exception. If every vehicle can still be driven normally and safely, each driver must move as soon as possible to a safer spot, such as the frontage road or the nearest suitable cross street, to finish the exchange. Not moving is a Class C misdemeanor, according to the Texas Transportation Code.

Section 550.023 of the Texas Transportation Code sets what each driver must hand over to anyone hurt, and to the drivers and passengers of the other vehicles:

“give the operator’s name and address, the registration number of the vehicle the operator was driving, and the name of the operator’s motor vehicle liability insurer”

The same section adds two more duties. A driver must show their driver’s license if asked and it is available. And they must give anyone injured reasonable help, including taking them, or arranging for them to be taken, to a doctor or hospital when treatment is clearly needed or the person asks, under the Texas Transportation Code.

The duty to stay is tied to those details and that help. Chapter 550 of the Texas Transportation Code requires a driver to remain until they have met section 550.023; it does not say a driver must wait for the police to arrive.

A crash with a parked car that has no one in it has its own rule. Under section 550.024 of the Texas Transportation Code, the driver must stop at once and either find its driver or owner, or leave a written note in plain view in it or firmly attached to it. Either way, they give the name and address of the driver and the owner of the vehicle that struck it. A note also says what happened.

Hitting property beside the road is covered too. Under section 550.025 of the Texas Transportation Code, a driver who damages only a structure, fixture or landscaping on or next to a highway must take reasonable steps to find and tell the owner. They give their name and address and the vehicle’s registration number, and show their license if asked.

When someone is hurt or killed, or a vehicle is too damaged to be driven normally and safely, the driver must notify the police at once, by the quickest means. Under section 550.026 of the Texas Transportation Code, a crash inside a city goes to the local police. Within 100 feet outside a city’s limits, it goes to the local police or the sheriff’s office. Farther out, it goes to the sheriff’s office or the nearest office of the department, as the section puts it.

The evidence that matters

Two records come straight from these rules. One is the set of details each driver had to hand over at the scene: name, address, registration number and insurer, under section 550.023 of the Texas Transportation Code. The other is the police report.

Under section 550.041 of the Texas Transportation Code, a peace officer told of a crash with injury, death or apparent damage of at least $1,000 may investigate it, even on property the chapter does not cover, except a private residential parking area or a paid private lot. Under section 550.062, an officer who investigates in the regular course of duty must write a report when anyone was hurt or killed, or one person’s property shows damage to the apparent extent of $1,000 or more. It must be filed electronically with the Texas Department of Transportation within 10 days of the crash.

Getting a copy. Under section 550.065 of the Texas Transportation Code, the report goes on written request to people directly concerned in the crash, including anyone involved and the owner of a damaged vehicle or property. A copy costs $6, and certifying it costs $2 more. Under section 550.068, only the officer who wrote the report can change a material fact, an important one, in it; anyone else can only add a written supplement that names who made the change.

Time limits apply to any lawsuit that follows. Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code says a suit for personal injury, or for injury to someone’s property, must be brought no later than 2 years after the day the cause of action accrues, meaning the day the right to sue arises. When a crash causes a death, the 2 years run from the day of the death.

Some events pause the clock. Under section 16.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, time is not counted while the person entitled to sue is under 18, or of unsound mind, if that was so when the claim arose. Under section 16.063, time the person being sued spends outside Texas is not counted. Under section 16.062, a death on either side suspends the clock for 12 months, or until an executor or administrator of the estate qualifies, meaning formally takes up the role, if sooner. Under section 16.072, a deadline that falls on a weekend or holiday moves to the next day county offices are open.

Leaving the scene is a crime, and the charge depends on the harm. Under section 550.021 of the Texas Transportation Code, failing to stop after a crash that kills someone is a second-degree felony, and after serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony. For other injuries the penalty can be up to 5 years in prison or a year in county jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

When the crash damaged only vehicles, not stopping or not sharing details is a lesser offense. Under section 550.022 of the Texas Transportation Code, it is a Class C misdemeanor when the damage to all vehicles is under $200, and a Class B misdemeanor at $200 or more. The same levels apply to a parked car left without a note, under section 550.024, and to roadside property, under section 550.025. Misdemeanors are the less serious class of crime, below felonies. Chapter 550 does not set the punishment for each felony or misdemeanor class, and the law that does was not read for this page.