After a Minor Crash, the Other Driver Wants to Skip the Police: What to Do in Pennsylvania

Attorney Answer

Report it to your own insurer, keep every text, and don't let your son agree to the other driver's version of events. Whether to file a police report is a real choice here, because Pennsylvania only requires one in certain crashes. But keeping the police out of it changes neither driver’s duties under the Vehicle Code, nor anyone’s claim.

When a police report is required. 75 Pa.C.S. § 3746(a):

The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident shall immediately by the quickest means of communication give notice to the nearest office of a duly authorized police department if the accident involves: (1) injury to or death of any person; or (2) damage to any vehicle involved to the extent that it cannot be driven under its own power in its customary manner without further damage or hazard to the vehicle, other traffic elements, or the roadway, and therefore requires towing.

A minor fender bender with no injuries and cars that drive away may fall outside that requirement. That makes reporting optional, not inadvisable. A report creates an independent record, and here the other driver is already trying to rewrite one.

What both drivers owed each other at the scene. For a crash involving another driver, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3743(a) provides:

The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting only in damage to a vehicle or other property which is driven or attended by any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close thereto as possible but shall forthwith return to and in every event shall remain at the scene of the accident until he has fulfilled the requirements of section 3744 (relating to duty to give information and render aid).

The section it refers to, § 3744(a), requires each driver to give name, address and registration, and to show license and insurance information on request. Your son did the right thing by stopping and getting the other driver's details.

Why your own insurer should hear about it, even with liability-only coverage. Liability coverage does not pay to fix your son's car. That claim goes to the other driver's insurer. But it is the coverage that responds if the other driver claims against your son. And an insurer that first hears about a crash when a claim arrives is starting behind. A policy generally requires prompt notice of any accident.

The texts are evidence. The other driver's messages asking your son to say he was at fault are worth keeping exactly as they are. They show an attempt to settle on facts more favorable to him. Your son should not reply to them, and should not agree to any version of events in writing.

Talking to his insurer. Your son is a claimant on that insurer, not its customer. He can open the damage claim with them. Before anyone gives them a recorded statement about how the crash happened, it is worth having your own insurer, or a lawyer, involved. Pennsylvania's claim-handling regulation, 31 Pa. Code § 146.6, requires an insurer to complete its investigation within 30 days of notice of a claim, or to explain the delay in writing every 45 days.

One practical point. At 18 your son is an adult, so the claim belongs to whoever owns the car. If the title is in his name, he is the claimant. If it is in yours, you are.

What you can do

1. Screenshot every text from the other driver and his insurer, and keep the originals.

2. Photograph the damage to both cars, including the location of the impact on your son's car.

3. Report the crash to your own insurer now.

4. Don't reply to requests to admit fault. Let the insurers communicate.

5. Ask your insurer, or a local attorney, whether a police report would help in your situation; Pennsylvania requires one only in the cases § 3746(a) lists.

6. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Pennsylvania attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. A claim for the damage to the car must be brought within two years under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524, which lists “An action for taking, detaining or injuring personal property, including actions for specific recovery thereof.” Insurance policies set their own, much shorter notice requirements, which is why the call to your insurer comes first.