Reporting traffic accidents and witnessed violations
When Traffic Police require an accident report, how to report a witnessed non-accident traffic violation, and the duties to stop and report after a crash.
Primary source: https://www.police.gov.sg/Knowledge-Hub/Traffic/Traffic-Matters/Reporting-Traffic-Accidents-and-Offences
A Traffic Accident Report is not required for every crash in Singapore. Traffic Police publish a list of situations that do require a report. If the accident does not involve any of those situations, parties exchange particulars and report the matter to their insurers under the Motor Claims Framework (SPF, Reporting Traffic Accidents and Offences). SPF states that its page was last updated on 23 July 2026.
When a report must be lodged
A traffic accident report must be lodged when the accident involves one or more of the following (SPF, Reporting Traffic Accidents and Offences):
- Fatality.
- Injuries where at least one person involved was taken to hospital from the accident scene by an ambulance, or any party involved was injured and obtained outpatient medical leave for 3 days or more.
- Damage to government property.
- A foreign vehicle.
- A pedestrian or cyclist.
- Hit-and-run.
If none of those apply, SPF says a Traffic Accident Report is not required under its listed criteria. Parties must still exchange particulars and report the accident to their insurers under the Motor Claims Framework (MCF) (SPF, Reporting Traffic Accidents and Offences).
Motor Claims Framework reporting
For accidents that do not meet SPF's criteria for a Traffic Accident Report, SPF says parties should exchange particulars and report the accident to their respective insurers under the Motor Claims Framework (SPF, Reporting Traffic Accidents and Offences).
SPF's Basic Theory of Driving handbook says all accidents should be reported to the insurer within 24 hours or by the next working day, even if the accident is minor, there is no visible damage, or no claim is intended. It says to bring the vehicle, whether damaged or not, to an approved reporting centre or authorised workshop within that timeframe. The handbook also advises exchanging particulars, recording vehicle numbers, taking photographs of the scene and vehicle damage, calling the insurer's hotline for towing or advice, and avoiding unauthorised tow-truck operators or repair workshops (SPF, Basic Theory of Driving handbook, p. 89). This insurer report is separate from the Traffic Police report duty in Road Traffic Act section 84, described below. GIA’s Motor Claims Framework reporting window is also recorded in Motor Claims Framework.
At the scene
Stop after any accident and switch on the hazard lights. In a no-injury accident, the SPF handbook advises drivers to move their vehicles quickly and safely to the roadside so they do not create a hazard for other road users (SPF, Final Theory of Driving handbook, paras. 286-287). The Basic Theory handbook's MCF guidance separately advises photographing the accident scene and vehicle damage for the insurer report (SPF, Basic Theory of Driving handbook, p. 89).
If anyone is injured, the SPF handbook says to seek help from passers-by to warn other road users about danger or obstruction, call police and ambulance, and not move the vehicle without a police officer's authority. It lists exceptions when the injured person has to be taken to hospital, to extricate someone trapped, prevent a fire, or reduce a serious traffic hazard (SPF, Final Theory of Driving handbook, para. 288).
The separate statutory evidence-preservation rule in Road Traffic Act section 84(4) has a specific threshold: it applies when an accident results in a death, serious injury, or serious damage to a vehicle or structure. Unless authorised by a police officer, no one may then move or otherwise interfere with an involved vehicle or alter accident evidence. The section permits moving a vehicle only so far as necessary to extricate people or animals, remove mails, prevent fire, or prevent damage or obstruction to the public; goods or passengers’ baggage may be removed under police supervision. Section 84(5) removes that restriction where it is urgently necessary to take a seriously injured person to hospital and no other suitable conveyance is available. The handbook’s broader advice for an accident involving injury is operational guidance; its listed examples are not identical to the Act’s exceptions. Failure to comply with section 84 is an offence under subsection (7) (SSO, Road Traffic Act 1961 s 84(4)–(5) and (7)).
Driver's duties after an accident
The SPF criteria above describe when it requires a Traffic Accident Report. Separately, under Road Traffic Act section 84, when an accident owing to a motor vehicle on a road causes damage or injury to a person, vehicle, or structure, the driver must stop. If a person at the scene with reasonable grounds asks for the driver’s particulars, the driver must provide them; if no such person is present, the driver must take reasonable steps to inform the owner of the damaged vehicle or structure and provide the particulars (SSO, Road Traffic Act 1961 s 84).
The driver must also report that accident at a police station or to a police officer as soon as reasonably practicable and, in any case, within 24 hours, subject to the statutory exceptions. The duty does not apply if the driver has already provided the required particulars to someone entitled to request them at the scene, or if, where no such person was present, the owner of the damaged property later contacts the driver and the driver provides the particulars. These statutory exceptions to the police-reporting duty are separate from SPF’s published criteria for lodging a Traffic Accident Report and the insurer’s MCF reporting timeframe (SSO, Road Traffic Act 1961 s 84(1)–(2)).
For section 84, “particulars” means the driver’s name and address, the vehicle owner’s name and address, and the vehicle’s identification marks. The definition applies to the particulars that must be given after a qualifying accident (SSO, Road Traffic Act 1961 s 84(6)).
Section 84 also has separate duties for an accident involving an animal. If an accident causes an animal’s injury or death and the driver has reasonable grounds to believe the animal is owned, or that it may create a road-safety hazard, the driver must stop. The driver must provide particulars if requested by a person at the scene with reasonable grounds; if no such person is present, the driver must take reasonable steps to notify the owner and provide particulars. If the animal’s presence is likely to pose a safety hazard, the driver must, as far as circumstances permit, alert other road users and immediately inform a police officer of the obstruction (SSO, Road Traffic Act 1961 s 84(2A)–(2B)).
Where an accident causes a person’s death or damage or injury to any person, vehicle, structure, or animal, the driver must render assistance reasonably required by a police officer, or, if no officer is present, assistance reasonably within the driver’s power (SSO, Road Traffic Act 1961 s 84).
A police officer may arrest without warrant a person reasonably suspected of failing to render the assistance required by section 84(3) (SSO, Road Traffic Act 1961 s 84(11)).
Police inquiry
The Deputy Commissioner of Police may by written notice require a person alleged to have been driving or in charge of a vehicle involved in an accident, or connected with a driving offence, to attend an inquiry. The person must attend and answer questions truthfully, but may refuse to answer a question that could expose them to a criminal charge, penalty or forfeiture. Answers cannot be used as evidence in civil or criminal proceedings, except in a prosecution for failing to comply with section 85. The person must produce their driving licence if required. Failure to comply without reasonable cause is an offence (SSO, Road Traffic Act 1961 s 85).
Under the current section 84(9), if a driver is convicted of the offence for failing to render that assistance and the court is satisfied that the driver caused serious injury or death, the court must disqualify the driver for at least 12 months. The court may order no disqualification or a shorter period for special reasons. From 14 April 2026, the disqualification period starts on conviction, or on release from prison if the driver is sentenced to imprisonment (SSO, Road Traffic Act 1961 s 84).
The Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026 has enacted a change to this start-date rule, but it is not yet in force as at 21 October 2026. Under new section 84(12), if the offender is sentenced to imprisonment for this or another offence before or at the same hearing, the disqualification period will start on the later of conviction or the date the offender is released and is no longer serving any imprisonment sentence. The Act requires a Minister-appointed Gazette commencement date; the current 2026 commencement listings checked for this update do not list a commencement notification for Act 18 (Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026, ss. 1 and 22; SSO, 2026 commencement notifications).
Enacted purposeful-endangerment offence
The Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026 creates a separate offence for driving a motor vehicle on a road in a manner that endangers someone, doing so for the purpose of endangering a particular person, and causing death or grievous hurt to any person. The enacted section gives examples including deliberately cutting in front of another vehicle and braking suddenly, or swerving into a motorcyclist’s lane to endanger them. On conviction, the maximum imprisonment term is 15 years; the person is also liable to a fine or caning, or both, and the court must impose lifetime driving disqualification unless special reasons justify a shorter period of at least 10 years. Act 18 also adds this offence to section 65AA(1): on the Public Prosecutor’s application, the court must order forfeiture of the vehicle used in the offence unless satisfied that the offender is not its owner and used it without the owner’s consent. It also adds section 63A to the specified-offence list in section 67A. If someone with at least two prior specified-offence convictions is convicted again of a specified offence, the court may, when it considers this necessary for public protection or preventing further offences, impose up to three times the otherwise applicable punishment, with imprisonment capped at 10 years. These amendments await the Act’s Minister-appointed Gazette commencement date, so they are not current law as at 21 October 2026 (Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026, ss. 1, 6, 9 and 12; Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 65AA; Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 67A; MHA, Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2026; SSO, 2026 commencement notifications).
Avoiding animal collisions
The Highway Code says to reduce speed when driving past animals, give them plenty of room, and stop if necessary or if signalled to do so (Singapore Statutes Online, Highway Code, para. 109).
SPF’s current Basic Theory of Driving handbook gives more specific wildlife-driving advice: slow down near nature areas and marked wildlife crossings; be especially cautious at dawn and dusk; scan the road shoulders; and slow down when an animal is crossing or walking beside the road because it may panic and cross. If a collision cannot be avoided, the handbook advises braking firmly and staying in lane (SPF, Basic Theory of Driving handbook, para. 160).
If an animal collision obstructs other road users, the handbook instructs the driver to stop, switch on hazard lights, and notify Traffic Police at 999. It cautions against touching or moving an injured animal unless confident it is safe; if the animal can be moved, place it at the road shoulder or grass verge without creating another obstruction and update Traffic Police. The Act’s separate duties to stop, provide particulars or notify the owner, and report a likely safety obstruction are set out above (SPF, Basic Theory of Driving handbook, para. 160; SSO, Road Traffic Act 1961 s 84(2A)–(2B)).
The Code also says not to let a dog stray and to keep it under close control when walking it or when it is in a car. Before allowing or taking animals onto a road, make sure the road is clear. When leading an animal on a road, place yourself between it and traffic and keep the animal at the road’s edge (Singapore Statutes Online, Highway Code, paras. 111–113).
Who should lodge it
Parties who were involved in or had witnessed the traffic accident (SPF, Reporting Traffic Accidents and Offences).
How to lodge it
A report can be lodged online via the SPF e-services website under the Traffic Accident Report section. That mode requires a Singpass account and an email address (SPF, Reporting Traffic Accidents and Offences).
Alternatively, the report may be lodged at any police station. SPF notes that waiting times may be longer during peak periods (SPF, Reporting Traffic Accidents and Offences).
Information to provide
SPF lists (SPF, Reporting Traffic Accidents and Offences):
- Date, time, and location of the accident.
- Particulars of involved parties, including name and NRIC/passport number (local/foreign).
- Particulars of witnesses, if any.
- Damage to and position of the vehicle(s) involved.
- Registration number and description of other vehicle(s).
- A brief description of how the accident happened.
- Scanned documents for reports lodged online, for example a sketch plan.
If an involved party is driving a foreign vehicle, SPF also asks for foreign address, local residential and company address if available, local/foreign contact number and email, and — for foreign motorists without a Singapore driving licence — driving-licence classes, licence number, and expiry date (SPF, Reporting Traffic Accidents and Offences).
Reporting a witnessed non-accident traffic violation
For a traffic violation that did not involve an accident, Traffic Police provides the Submit Feedback on Road Users Committing Traffic Violations e-service. A reporter must have personally witnessed the violation and be willing to testify in court. The service asks for the violation’s date, time and location, the registration number(s) of the vehicle(s), Singpass and a valid email address; evidence such as a photo or video can be attached if available (SPF, Submit Feedback on Road Users Committing Traffic Violations).
SPF’s published reporting FAQ says a Police Report must be lodged before an investigation into a non-accident traffic violation can be initiated. It lists both the Feedback on Road Users and Police Report e-services as online reporting channels. The FAQ says an independent witness and/or corroborative evidence such as photo or video images can assist Traffic Police; the dedicated e-service says Traffic Police will investigate and take action when an offence is clearly recorded and posed a danger to other road users. Investigations are confidential, and the service says reporters should not expect an update unless they are required to testify in court (SPF, Reporting Traffic Accidents and Offences FAQ; SPF, Submit Feedback on Road Users Committing Traffic Violations; SPF, Reporting a Non-Accident Traffic Violation).
Coverage debt
- SPF’s current public guidance and handbook do not describe the technical steps for insurer accident-reporting portals; this article covers SPF’s Traffic Accident Report e-service and insurer reporting guidance, but not insurer-portal workflows.
- This article does not assess insurer-specific consequences of a late report or claim.
- SPF’s public reporting materials do not provide an exhaustive list of which non-accident traffic violations members of the public may report through the Feedback on Road Users service.
- Act 18 of 2026 also changes penalties for dangerous or careless driving causing grievous hurt; the section 64–65 current and enacted future penalty limits are summarized in Driver Improvement Points System (Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026, ss. 7–8). Other Act 18 changes and commencement status are tracked in the research queue. The purposeful-endangerment offence above is a summary of new section 63A, not a full treatment of its sentencing procedure.