Truck accident procedures for the first 32 hours
A truck crash starts several clocks at once: one at the scene, one for drug and alcohol testing, and one for the records your carrier must keep. Missing any of them turns a bad day into a violation.
Written by Rigo Diaz
The deadlines after a truck crash
Truck accident procedures start at the scene: stop, protect it, get help for anyone hurt, call police, and tell your carrier. Then the federal clock runs. A required alcohol test must happen within 8 hours and a drug test within 32, and a recordable crash stays in the carrier's accident register for 3 years.
The hour after a crash decides more than most drivers expect: whether a required test happens in time, what the police report says, and how the claim reads months later. Very little of it depends on who caused the crash.
I spent more than six years in risk management before I founded Simplex, and I have led it for more than 25 years since. This is the sequence I want every driver and dispatcher to know before they need it, in the order the clocks start.
The full briefing, read aloud
8 chapters. Select one to jump to it.
Generated with AI text-to-speech from this article's key insights, in order, rather than reading it word for word. Chapter times come from a transcript of the audio. The article itself was written and reviewed by Rigo Diaz.
Key takeaways
Stop, protect, help, then call
Hazard flashers go on immediately and warning devices go out within 10 minutes. Medical help always comes before any testing.
Not every crash is a DOT accident
Under 49 CFR 390.5T it takes a death, an injury treated away from the scene, or a vehicle towed away with disabling damage.
A citation triggers the test, not fault
After a fatal crash, the driver is always tested. After an injury or tow-away crash, only if the driver is cited for a moving violation.
The driver must stay available and sober
A driver who is not available for a required test can be treated as refusing, and may not drink for 8 hours or until tested.
The record follows the driver
Recordable crashes stay in the accident register for 3 years, and a future employer will ask for them.
State reports are separate
California, for example, wants its own SR 1 report within 10 days. Check the state where the crash happened.
In this articleContents
What should a truck driver do right after an accident?
Stop, make the scene safe, get help for anyone hurt, and then start the calls. These are the truck driver accident procedures in the order they matter.
Step 1: Stop and protect the scene
Leaving the scene is a hit-and-run under state law. Turn on your hazard flashers immediately, and place your warning devices as soon as possible, within 10 minutes at the latest (49 CFR 392.22). Our guide to wildlife collisions shows where each triangle goes.
Step 2: Check on people and call 911
Call 911 if anyone is hurt. Federal testing rules never require you to delay medical care, and you may leave the scene to get help or emergency treatment (49 CFR 382.303(e)).
Step 3: Call your carrier
Call dispatch or your safety contact right away. Someone has to decide within hours whether a drug and alcohol test is required, and they can't do it without the facts from you.
Step 4: Document everything
Photograph every vehicle, the damage, the road, and the view from your approach. Exchange license, registration, and insurance information with the other drivers; California's driver handbook, for one, requires it. Get witnesses' names, and make sure any dash camera video is saved.
Step 5: Give police the facts
Answer questions plainly and ask for the report number. Don't guess about fault or apologize at the scene: what you say goes into the report, and fault is decided later by people who have all the evidence.
Step 6: Stay available and log it
Stay where your carrier can reach you, and don't drink. Time spent attending to a disabled truck, or getting a post-crash test your carrier directs, is on-duty time under 49 CFR 395.2.
Is it a DOT-recordable accident?
Only if it meets FMCSA's definition. Under 49 CFR 390.5T, an accident is a crash involving a commercial motor vehicle on a highway, in interstate or intrastate commerce, that results in:
- A fatality
- An injury that is treated immediately away from the scene
- Disabling damage to one or more vehicles, which then must be towed or carried away
Two things are excluded: a crash involving only people getting on or off a stationary vehicle, and one involving only loading or unloading cargo.
Why the "T"? The original definitions section, 390.5, has been suspended, so 390.5T is the version in force. A fender-bender you drive away from is not a recordable accident, but your state's reporting law and your insurance policy may still apply.
When is a post-accident drug and alcohol test required?
After any crash with a fatality, and after an injury or tow-away crash only when the driver gets a citation for a moving violation arising from it. That is the rule in 49 CFR 382.303. Fault doesn't enter into it.
| Crash outcome | Driver cited? | Test required? |
|---|---|---|
| Fatality | Yes or no | Yes, alcohol and drugs |
| Injury treated away from the scene | Yes | Yes, alcohol and drugs |
| Injury treated away from the scene | No | No |
| Vehicle towed with disabling damage | Yes | Yes, alcohol and drugs |
| Vehicle towed with disabling damage | No | No |
The citation counts if it comes within 8 hours of the crash for the alcohol test, and within 32 hours for the drug test.
How fast must the test happen?
- Alcohol: as soon as practicable. Not done within 2 hours? The employer records why. At 8 hours, it stops trying and records that too.
- Drugs: as soon as practicable. At 32 hours, the employer stops trying and records the reasons.
- Police tests: a breath, blood, or urine test by officers with their own authority can count, if it meets the applicable requirements and the employer gets the results.
What the driver must do
Stay readily available, or the employer may treat it as a refusal to test. And no alcohol for 8 hours after the crash, or until the alcohol test is done, whichever comes first (49 CFR 382.209).
What does the carrier have to record and keep?
Every recordable crash goes in the accident register, which the carrier keeps for 3 years after the date of each accident (49 CFR 390.15). For each one it lists:
- The date, and the city or town and state where it happened
- The driver's name
- The number of injuries and of fatalities
- Whether hazardous materials were released, other than fuel spilled from the vehicles' own tanks
The register also holds copies of every accident report the state, another government body, or your insurer requires. The carrier must make all records about an accident available to FMCSA and state investigators, and answer their questions fully and truthfully.
That reaches beyond the register. Records of duty status only have to be kept for 6 months (49 CFR 395.8(k)), so pull and save the crash-day logs, inspection reports, and maintenance file for the truck while you still have them.
The register follows the driver
When your driver applies elsewhere, the new carrier must ask you for the driver's accidents from the previous 3 years, using the register's data (49 CFR 391.23). An accurate entry protects both of you.
Hazmat adds its own reports
If hazardous materials are involved, the person in possession must call the National Response Center within 12 hours when a release kills someone, puts someone in the hospital, or closes a major road for an hour or more (49 CFR 171.15). A written report on DOT Form F 5800.1 is due within 30 days, also for any unintentional release (49 CFR 171.16).
Do you have to file your own accident report?
It depends on the state where the crash happened. The police report taken at the scene is the starting point, but some states also require a report from each driver, and others no longer take one.
- California: each driver must file an SR 1 with the DMV within 10 days if the crash caused more than $1,000 in property damage or anyone was injured or killed, whoever caused it. Missing it suspends your driving privilege.
- Texas: since September 1, 2017, TxDOT no longer keeps the Driver's Crash Report (Form CR-2), so the officer's report is the record (TxDOT).
Then tell your insurer the same day. Your policy sets the notice terms, and any report your insurer requires belongs in the accident register. If you are not sure what your truck insurance expects after a crash, ask before you need it.
What happens to your safety record after a crash?
A recordable crash counts in the Crash Indicator BASIC of FMCSA's Safety Measurement System, whoever caused it, unless you get it reviewed.
FMCSA's Crash Preventability Determination Program reviews 21 crash types, such as being struck in the rear or while legally stopped. You file a Request for Data Review in DataQs with the police report and your photos or video. A Not Preventable crash still appears on your record but drops out of the Crash Indicator calculation.
That is why the photos from Step 4 matter. How to run the request inside a monthly safety routine is in our guide to fleet safety solutions, and what underwriters do with your crash history is in how CSA scores affect truck insurance.
How Simplex helps after a crash
The procedure works only if it is in place before the call comes. We help you build it, run it, and keep the records straight.
Post-accident testing, ready to go
Our substance abuse testing program support covers all six DOT test types, post-accident included, and keeps your program audit-ready.
Crash records and DataQs
Our CSA program monitors your scores and helps fix the programs behind them, including DataQs requests.
Coverage that answers the call
We build commercial truck insurance around your operation, not a one-size-fits-all policy, so you know what it expects after a crash.
Frequently asked questions
What do I do if I get in a semi truck accident?+
What is 49 CFR 390.5T?+
Does a truck driver get drug tested after every accident?+
How do I file a truck accident report?+
How long must a carrier keep accident records?+
Where this information comes from
The requirements below come from federal regulation, FMCSA, and state motor vehicle agencies, checked on October 19, 2026.
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1
eCFR — 49 CFR 382.303
When a post-accident test is required, the 2-, 8-, and 32-hour limits, and driver availability.
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2
eCFR — 49 CFR 390.5T
The definition of an accident in force, and the boarding and cargo exclusions.
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3
eCFR — 49 CFR 390.15
The 3-year accident register and its required contents.
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4
eCFR — 49 CFR 392.22
Hazard flashers and the 10-minute rule for warning devices.
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5
eCFR — 49 CFR 391.23
Three years of accident history requested from a driver's previous employers.
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6
eCFR — 49 CFR 171.15
The 12-hour telephone notice for serious hazardous materials incidents.
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7
California DMV — Collisions
The duty to stop, information to exchange, and the SR 1 report within 10 days.
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8
FMCSA — Crash Preventability Determination Program
The 21 eligible crash types and what a Not Preventable finding changes.
Written by
Rigo Diaz
Founder & CEO, Simplex Group
Founder and CEO of Simplex Group, with more than 25 years leading the company and helping trucking entrepreneurs navigate compliance, insurance, and the day-to-day demands of running a carrier. Before founding Simplex, he spent more than six years in risk management, experience that continues to shape how he approaches insurance, compliance, and carrier risk today.
Published · Updated
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Write the accident procedure before you need it
Every clock in this guide starts at the moment of the crash, and none of them waits for someone to find the policy binder. The carrier must hand drivers post-accident instructions before they drive.
If you want help putting the procedure, the testing program, and the records in place, talk to our team.