At the scene of an accident involving a State vehicle, the driver shall, unless incapacitated due to injury:
- Call for medical assistance if necessary;
- Notify the police. If this is not immediately possible, the driver must notify the police as soon as he/she is able;
- Obtain all information necessary to fully complete a RMV Motor Vehicle Crash Report [PDF] (available here) and an Owned Vehicle Auto Loss form with the University Treasurer's Office.
After the accident, the driver or Department Fleet Manager is responsible for:
- Calling the University Treasurer's Office within 24 hours of the accident.
- Repairs related to the accident will be billed to the department in the monthly repair recharge. In some cases auto body work may need to be paid for using a purchase order.
- The University Treasurer's Office will subrogate all claims against other driver's insurance companies and collect all funds for the University.
- If an accident causes over $1,000 worth of property damage and/or injury or death, the driver must send a copy of the accident report to the Registry of Motor Vehicles and the police department in whose jurisdiction the accident occurred.
- If a police report was filed in connection with the accident the driver or department Fleet Manager MUST obtain a copy and forward it to the University Treasurer's Office.
In the event that a State employee, driving a State owned vehicle, is involved in an accident that damages their own personal vehicle or other personal property then this incident shall be considered a Conflict of Interest and the Commonwealth of MA cannot be held liable for any damage done to that individual's personal property. As a result, no claim can be brought against the Commonwealth by that driver.
