A new way to report collisions to Ottawa police

New electronic kiosks have been installed at Ottawa Police Collision Reporting Centres to report collisions. (Peter Szperling/CTV News Ottawa)

Anyone that has been involved in a car accident or vehicle collision knows how stressful and time consuming the aftermath can be.

Now, there are new kiosks at Ottawa Police Collision Reporting Centres, designed to make the entire process smoother.

A collision can happen in a matter of moments.

"It was my green signal and (the other driver) didn’t see me, and unfortunately I hit them,” an Ottawa driver told CTV News Ottawa while staff took pictures of the damage to his car at a collision reporting centre.

"I called the Ottawa police, and they told me they have a new system from today. And, so they told me I should come here with my car and do everything at the kiosk,” he said.

There are new electronic kiosks at Ottawa Police Police Headquarters (474 Elgin Street), and at both the OPS Collision Reporting Centres at 211 Huntmar Drive and 3343 St. Joseph Boulevard.

“If you’re involved in an accident on the streets and it’s over $2,000; but, where there are no serious injuries to either party, and you’re able to drive from the scene to get here - even if you need a tow truck, if you’re not sure your car is drivable - come to one of our stations," Acting Deputy Chief Trish Ferguson said.

The system is a partnership between Ottawa police and ASSI, Accident Support Services International Ltd., a privately owned company who operate Collision Reporting Centres.

“It’s been long overdue,” Ferguson says. "We’ve been wanting to really streamline our service, and I think right now we’re facing significant staffing impacts, and so this is a way to make sure that our officers spend their time taking the most high priority cases and really are focusing on those crimes in progress."

"This is designed to make the process very painless and efficient,” says Steve Sanderson, ASSI President. "The police will still verify the accuracy and consistency of the information before it’s sent to the province."

Sanderson says they already operate in other cities, such as Toronto and Peel Region.

"We’ve been doing this for over 29 years, we do it in 42 different municipalities across Canada, and it’s really been a success story — it’s totally funded by the insurance industry."

According to Sanderson, there is no cost to the public, the police service, or the municipality. The service is funded by the license insurers that write automobile policies in Ontario.

He adds that there are approximately 35,000 collisions in Ottawa each year.

The Highway Traffic Act requires that any collision with injuries and/or damages exceeding $2,000 must be reported to the police. Drivers involved in a minor vehicle collision without injuries who do not require a police officer to respond, must attend a CRC to self-report their collision, according to the Ottawa Police.

“We’ll also give you the opportunity to report it to your insurer; so, for them, the faster they open the claim, the faster they close it,” says Sanderson.