Empowering companies that use vehicles with the tools to grow and scale effortlessly.
Hesperus, ColoradoCall 970-749-9449
Empowering companies that use vehicles with the tools to grow and scale effortlessly.
Hesperus, ColoradoCall 970-749-9449
DOT Guides/Accidents
After a crash, two questions matter right away: does this go on our accident register, and do we have to drug and alcohol test the driver? Get the first wrong and an auditor finds it. Get the second wrong, in either direction, and it gets expensive. Here’s how to know, in about 30 seconds.
Just had a crash? Call us now: 970-749-9449
A crash involving your commercial truck on a public road is DOT recordable if any one of three things happened. Tap through the quiz, or follow the chart.
Good to know“Recordable” and “testable” are two different questions. Plenty of recordable crashes don’t need a drug test. Keep going.
Good to know“Disabling damage” means the vehicle can’t leave the scene under its own power in the usual way. A flat tire or a broken mirror you can drive away from doesn’t count.
Definition of accident, 49 CFR 390.5: a CMV on a public road, interstate or intrastate.
For CDL drivers, DOT post-accident testing depends on what happened and whether your driver got a ticket. It’s about the crash, not about fault.
Missed it? Write down why.
Stop trying and document it.
Stop trying and document it.
Good to knowNon-CDL drivers aren’t in the DOT testing program. You can still test them under your company policy.
After a crash, the instinct is to send the driver for a DOT test no matter what. It feels responsible. But a DOT post-accident test is only allowed when the crash meets the DOT criteria. Order one when it doesn’t, and you’ve tainted your DOT program.
DOT authority to test comes from the rules. A crash that doesn’t qualify gives you no DOT authority, so a test ordered under DOT isn’t a valid DOT test.
The federal custody and control form is only for DOT-required tests. Using it for anything else is a problem on its own.
You may not be able to act on it the DOT way: removal, the SAP process, the Clearinghouse report. And the driver may have grounds to challenge it.
Testing without authority can open the door to privacy and wrongful-action claims. Auditors and attorneys both notice.
DOT formsInside the windowsResults to the DER
Non-DOT formsOnly if your policy allows itKept separate
Based on 49 CFR 382.303 and 49 CFR Part 40, including 40.13, which keeps DOT and non-DOT testing completely separate. [Confirm wording with MRO/legal.]
Six steps your drivers and your office should know cold, before they ever need them.
Check for injuries, call 911 if anyone’s hurt, hazards on, triangles out.
Right away, from the scene. Members: the office calls us.
Be polite, cooperate with police, stick to facts.
Photos of every vehicle, the scene and the road. Names, plates, insurance, witnesses, the officer’s name and report number.
Did the driver get a citation? That answer decides the drug and alcohol test.
Run the flowchart or call us. If a test is required, the clock is already running.
These steps, the testing windows, our number and blanks for the nearest collection site. It’s in the free Accident Kit.
Good to knowIf a test is required, the driver generally can’t drink alcohol for 8 hours after the crash, or until tested, whichever comes first.
The accident register is a simple list of every DOT recordable accident, kept for 3 years after each one. Auditors almost always ask for it.
| Date | City & State | Driver | Injuries | Fatalities | Hazmat Released? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/14/2026 | Farmington, NM | J. Ortiz | 1 | 0 | No |
| Example row | Nearest town if rural | Full name | Number | Number | Not counting fuel from the trucks' own tanks |
Also keep: copies of every accident report required by the state, other agencies or your insurance company.
Good to knowYour accident rate is one of the six safety rating factors in a full audit. A missing register is an easy violation to avoid.
Good to knowOnly recordable crashes go on it. Logging every fender bender inflates your numbers.
Need a register? There’s a ready-to-use one in the free Accident Kit.
49 CFR 390.15.
The Accident Kit: three one-page PDFs, each ready to print.
1. Accident Register. The six required columns, plus report number and “tested?” columns.
2. After-a-Crash Truck Sheet. Full page for the glove box: the six steps, the windows, our number and your collection site.
3. Recordable? Test? Flowchart. Both flowcharts on one page. Pin it by dispatch.
It lands in your inbox in about a minute.
The Honest Fine PrintWe’ll email you the kit. We might send you something useful once in a while, like a heads-up when a rule changes. We will not spam the living daylights out of you, and we will never sell your email. That’s not who we are. Unsubscribe anytime with one click, no hard feelings.
None of these come from bad companies. They come from busy ones on a bad day.
A DOT test after a crash that didn’t qualify taints the program.
Nobody knew where to send the driver, and 8 hours went by.
The citation came at the scene; the office found out two days later.
Minor crashes logged as recordable inflate your accident rate.
A towed car in the other lane still makes it recordable.
Every crash is in someone’s email. None are on the register.
Members don’t have to remember any of this. It’s all built into DOT Docs and your Customer Care Professional’s playbook.
From the office or the scene.
Recordable? Testable? We walk through it with you, right then.
Nearest site, digital donor pass to the driver’s phone, inside the window. Not needed? We tell you, so you don’t taint the pool.
The crash, the reports and the test go in your DOT Docs file, audit-ready.
Drug testing is part of Effortless Drug Testing, an add-on to the Effortless Compliance membership.
No. Only crashes with a fatality, an injury treated away from the scene, or a vehicle towed away with disabling damage.
No. A fatality always does. Injury or tow-away crashes need one only if your driver got a ticket.
Write down why. Alcohol stops at 8 hours, drugs at 32. Keep that record.
Not as a DOT test. If your company policy allows it, use a separate non-DOT test on non-DOT forms.
Not DOT tests. Your company policy can still require one.
3 years after each accident.
DOT recordable accidents happen on public roads. Call us about anything in between.
Recordable crashes count in your crash record. [Confirm whether to mention FMCSA’s crash preventability program.]
Put the sheet in the truck, the register in the office, and our number in every driver’s phone. Or let us handle the whole thing.
Just had a crash? Call us: 970-749-9449
