An officer asks for a statement hours after the drivers agreed not to call police
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Reviewed & verified by A. Jason Velez, Esq.*
Founding Attorney, 1LAW · Last reviewed April 2024
Legal Inquiry
Consumer Legal Issue
I was in a collision at about half past ten at night. The other driver and I agreed not to call the police and exchanged details for the damage instead. At two in the morning I had a call from his number saying he had stayed at the scene and that a police officer wanted my statement. Do I have to respond right now?
Attorney Answer
No — nothing requires you to give a statement at two in the morning to a caller you cannot verify.
Start with the call itself. A request relayed through the other driver's phone is not a verified request from law enforcement. If an officer wants to speak to you, that can be arranged directly with the agency, in daylight, once you know which agency and which officer.
What Georgia does require is reporting, and that duty is on the drivers:
The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person or property damage to an apparent extent of $500.00 or more shall immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of such accident…
That is O.C.G.A. § 40-6-273, and the $500 threshold is low enough that many collisions meet it. An agreement between drivers not to involve the police does not displace it, which is worth knowing whatever the other driver has since done.
Giving a statement is a different matter from reporting. Contacting the agency to confirm the accident is recorded is straightforward. Providing an account of how it happened, at night, on the phone, without knowing what has been said already, is not, and there is no obligation to do it on that schedule.
What you can do
1. Do not give an account over the phone to a caller you have not verified. 2. Contact the law enforcement agency directly in the morning and ask whether a report exists and who is handling it. 3. Write out your own account now, dated, while it is fresh, for your own use. 4. Notify your insurer, which is a separate obligation from anything the police need. 5. Speak to a Georgia attorney before giving a formal statement, particularly if injury is being alleged.
⏱ Time limits apply. Georgia sets deadlines for every kind of claim and they are shorter than most people expect. Confirm the one that governs your situation with a Georgia attorney before assuming there is time.
A Georgia attorney can tell you quickly how the facts here line up, and most will look at a matter like this at no cost.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Georgia require drivers to report a collision even if they agree not to?
O.C.G.A. § 40-6-273 requires immediate notice where an accident results in injury or death, or property damage to an apparent extent of $500.00 or more. An agreement between drivers does not displace that duty.
Is a driver obliged to give a statement immediately when asked?
Reporting an accident and giving an account of how it happened are different things. A request relayed through another party is not a verified request from an agency, and contact can be arranged directly.
What should a driver do before giving a formal statement?
Establish which agency is involved, write out their own recollection while it is fresh, and take advice before giving an account, particularly where injury is alleged.