The common belief is that reporting becomes necessary only when somebody is hurt. The section says something different, and reading its opening words settles the question in most cases.
What triggers the duty
Section 134 opens: when any person is injured or any property of a third party is damaged, as a result of an accident in which a motor vehicle is involved, the driver of the vehicle or other person in charge of the vehicle shall do the things that follow. Injury to a person and damage to a third party's property are alternatives, joined by or. A collision in which nobody was hurt but somebody else's car, gate, compound wall or parked two wheeler was damaged falls squarely within it.
What the driver must then do:
- Secure medical attention where there is an injured person. Clause (a) requires all reasonable steps to be taken to convey the injured person to the nearest medical practitioner or hospital, unless it is not practicable on account of mob fury or another reason beyond the driver's control, and places a duty on the doctor to attend immediately without waiting for procedural formalities.
- Report. Clause (b) requires the driver to give on demand by a police officer any information required by him, or, if no police officer is present, to report the circumstances of the occurrence, including the circumstances if any for not taking the steps under clause (a), at the nearest police station as soon as possible and in any case within twenty four hours of the occurrence.
- Tell the insurer, in writing. Clause (c) requires written information to the insurer who issued the certificate of insurance, giving the policy number and period of validity, the date, time and place of the accident, the particulars of persons injured or killed, and the name of the driver with his licence particulars. The Explanation provides that driver in this section includes the owner of the vehicle.
Section 187 punishes whoever fails to comply with clause (a) of Section 132(1), or with Section 133, or with Section 134, with imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with a fine of five thousand rupees, or with both. On a second conviction under the same section, imprisonment which may extend to one year, or a fine of ten thousand rupees, or both. Failing to report is therefore an offence in its own right, quite apart from anything to do with how the accident happened.
The related duties at the scene
Section 132(1)(a) requires the driver to cause the vehicle to stop and remain stationary for such reasonable time as may be necessary, not exceeding twenty four hours, when required to do so by a police officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector in uniform, where the vehicle has been involved in an accident to a person, animal or vehicle or in damage to property. The same sub-section requires the driver to give his name and address and the owner's name and address to any person affected by the accident or damage who demands it, provided that person also furnishes his own name and address. That exchange is the practical core of a minor collision, and it is a statutory obligation rather than a courtesy.
Section 158(2) then provides that where an accident involving death or bodily injury occurs and the driver does not produce the required certificates, licence and permit at the time, he or the owner shall produce them at the police station at which the Section 134 report is made, and Section 158(3) gives seven days from the date of the accident to do so.
When only your own vehicle is damaged
Where nobody was injured and nothing belonging to anybody else was damaged, Section 134 is not engaged on its own terms. Two things still follow. Your own damage claim is a contract matter, and motor policies require prompt intimation of the loss, so the insurer should be told immediately and in writing whatever the Act requires. And if there is any prospect that a third party will later say his vehicle or property was involved, a contemporaneous report is protection rather than exposure. If the insurer later declines the claim, the grounds on which a repudiation can be resisted are set out in our guide on challenging an insurance claim repudiation.
A short list for the scene
- Photograph before anything moves. Both vehicles, both plates, the position on the road, the damage, and the signals, signs and lane markings.
- Exchange particulars as Section 132 requires. Name, address, owner's name and address, and offer yours in return so the obligation is triggered on both sides.
- Note witnesses and cameras. A shop, a building entrance or a bus with a dashboard camera stops being findable within a day.
- Report within twenty four hours where the section applies. Ask for an acknowledgement of the report and keep it.
- Write to the insurer with the Section 134(c) particulars. Do this even where a settlement between drivers looks likely, because a claim raised later against a file with no intimation is a harder claim.
- Do not sign a settlement note admitting fault at the roadside. Where a compensation claim follows, liability is decided by a Claims Tribunal on evidence, and the route is set out in our guide on motor accident compensation claims.
If a challan is issued alongside the accident, treat it as a separate matter with its own answer, and do not pay one you intend to dispute, for the reasons set out in our note on disputing an e-challan in Bengaluru.