Check the driver is safe and has what they need. Get a complete report and the other driver's details while they're still at the scene, then get it to your insurer the same day. After that, save any camera footage before it's overwritten, sort out the van and look at what led to the crash once the claim is moving.
In the first hour
- The driver first. If anyone is hurt, the driver calls 999. Otherwise, check they're safe, not too shaken to drive and know what happens next.
- The police where the law needs them. Where the driver doesn't give their details at the scene, or someone is injured and the driver doesn't produce their insurance, the driver must report it to the police as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case within 24 hours (Road Traffic Act 1988, section 170). This is a summary of the law, not legal advice.
- The other driver's details. Name, address, phone number, insurer and registration, which your insurer needs to deal with the other driver quickly.
- Photos and the location, of both vehicles, the road and anything that explains what happened.
- Witnesses, with a name and phone number for each.
The same day
- Report it to your insurer, even if you don't expect to claim, following your policy's claims condition. Some fleet policies, such as AXA's mini fleet wording, say you must tell the insurer immediately.
- Save the footage. Download the van's camera footage before the recorder loops over it. Where a motorway or major A road camera in England may have caught it, act quickly. National Highways says its footage "is only kept for 7 days" and requests must be made "within 5 days of an incident occurring".
- Sort out the van. Check whether it's safe to drive, then arrange recovery or repair through your insurer or its network where your cover allows.
In the week after
- Look at what led to it, without assuming fault: the journey, the time of day, the workload and the driver's recent driving.
- Check the driver is OK. A crash can shake a confident driver, so a quick conversation a few days later is worth having.
- Keep a record of what happened and what you did, since the insurer, the board and sometimes the HSE may ask later.
Where SHIELD fits
SHIELD puts the roadside report on the driver's phone. The driver reports the incident at the roadside in the SHIELD app, with photos, the other driver's details, the location and a signature. The office gets an alert, checks it and adds notes, with a licence check attached: one from the last 30 days if there is one, or a new one run there and then. It then goes to your insurer, broker or repair network within minutes. If something's missing, the office can ring the driver while it's still fresh. When the insurer's claims data arrives, the claim is linked back to the incident, the vehicle and the driver.
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Sources: Road Traffic Act 1988, section 170 (legislation.gov.uk); National Highways, traffic camera and CCTV services; AXA Commercial Motor mini fleet policy wording, June 2025.