The Windsor Police Service has relaunched its Collision Reporting Centre (CRC) with Accident Support Services International Ltd. to make it easier to report a car accident.
The centre is located at 2696 Jefferson Boulevard, and is a place for the community to report minor collisions.
According to Windsor police, the CRC program provides drivers a safe and informative place to report their collisions to police services.
Police chief Jason Bellaire says this will free up more members on the frontline to respond to other calls.
"The fact that somebody can get off the road real quickly, our officers don't have to go there and take pictures, they don't have to do reports and even the contact they have with the individuals is far less frequent, and shorter. And cycle time bringing people here with the do-it-yourself walk through system, it's a proven system, that just great for us at the Windsor Police, but more than that it's just great for the community."
Steve Sanderson, President of Accident Support Services International Ltd., says those who have been in an accident will call 9-1-1 to report it, and the operator will instruct them on next steps, which may include a trip to the centre.
"We'll walk them through the collision report, we use a self-assisted kiosk where we actually record a statement and do a diagram. And then there's a handout from their insurance company that we'll give them that basically says 'sorry you've had a collision, call our 1-800 number'. In some cases we actually send the file electronically to them."
A kiosk used to report a collision at the Collision Reporting Centre. April 4, 2023 (Photo Credit: Courtesy of AM800's Rob Hindi)
Sanderson says this allows those who have been in an accident to file a report at the centre when they're available.
"They'll come in on their lunch hour, they'll come in after dinner. You know, you're taking your wife to dinner, I'm taking my son to the hockey game, we collide, we exchange information, we come in when it's convenient for us. So it makes life easier, it's safer, you're not on the side of the road."
ASSI has operated the Collision Reporting Centre Program since 1994 and operates 44 centres throughout Ontario and Alberta.
The Ontario Highway Traffic Act requires that all vehicle collisions that involve injuries or property damage valued at more than $2,000 must be reported to police as soon as possible.
-with files from AM800's Rob Hindi