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Evidence matters if you have been involved in a motor vehicle accident caused by another driver. In Montana, one of the most important pieces of evidence is the Accident Investigator’s Report filled out by the responding police officer or Montana Highway Patrol officer. Insurance companies and other parties responsible for compensating injury victims hurt in a car accident use these reports to determine who was at fault and how much money to compensate injured drivers and passengers.
That’s why it’s important to know how to correctly read your Montana motor vehicle accident report. You should also correct any factual errors or inconsistencies so there’s no confusion about who caused the accident and who’s responsible for compensating all injured parties.
Montana Accident Investigator’s Report
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/mt_nhq1599.pdf
Page 1
This page contains the codes used on the second page to describe 31 different situations and details associated with the accident, including weather conditions and contributing circumstances in the accident. Understanding these codes can be challenging, particularly for individuals that have never been involved in a motor vehicle accident. However, it’s important to carefully review these codes and make sure the information accurately reflects what happened.
Click here to download a printable PDF of How To Read Your Montana Car Accident Report.
Page 2
The top of the second page contains information about the exact time, date and location of the accident. There’s also a space for the investigating officer to note if the crash was a hit and run accident.
The middle part of the page contains a space for the investigating officer to draw a diagram of the accident and describe the accident in a few sentences. Carefully review this part of the accident report and make sure the officer’s drawing and description match your memory of what happened.
The bottom part of the page lists the names and addresses of the drivers involved in the accident, along with the severity of the damaged to each vehicle. Insurance companies carefully review such information and often decide how much to award accident victims based on such details. If the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, that information can also be found in Box 17 near the bottom of the page.
Commercial Vehicle and Fatal Accident Supplement Page
This additional page is divided into two main parts.
The top of the page applies only to motor vehicle accidents involving a commercial vehicle.
The bottom of the page applies only to motor vehicle accidents that result in a fatality.
The top part of the page lists what type of commercial motor vehicle was involved in the crash, including whether it was a tractor trailer, bus, tractor or another type of commercial vehicle. A list of the possible sequence of events (ranging from “jackknife” to “overturn” to “collision involving a motor vehicle in transport”) can be found here as well.
If a fatal motor vehicle accident occurred, the bottom part of this supplemental page will list the exact time of the accident, the name of person(s) who died in the crash and whether anyone involved in the accident was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. This part of the page will also list if a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) test was administered and if the person tested or refused to be tested.
