When to Report a Vehicle Accident:
- For any university owned vehicle damaged while being driven or parked;
- For any non-university vehicle damaged while being operated on official university business; and
- For any vehicle accident where the vehicle is being operated by faculty, staff, university employed students, or identified university Volunteers.
Accident Reporting Procedure for Drivers on University Business
- Make no comment or statement regarding the accident to anyone except investigating police, your supervisor, Cal Poly Risk Management, other State officers, or an identified representative of ORIM.
- Call the police (911) in the event of any injury accident. Call University Police if on Campus at 805-756-2281.
- Record accident information immediately on a Vehicle Accident Data Form (STD 269) for all vehicles (state, rented, and personal vehicles).
- If the vehicle is rented contact the rental agency.
- If the vehicle is your personal vehicle contact your insurance agent.
- Contact Fleet Services at 805-756-6022 for university owned vehicles to schedule an inspection to assure the vehicle is safe to operate.
- Driver MUST provide a written Report of Vehicle Accident (STD 270) to Risk Management within 48 hours of the accident (for state, rented and personal vehicles).
- Driver’s Supervisor MUST provide a written Supervisor’s Report of State Vehicle Accident (STD 274) within 5 days of the accident (for state, rented, and personal vehicles).
- Forms should be submitted, either delivered by hand to Risk Management, Building 01 Room 128 or by emailing riskmanagement@calpoly.edu.
Follow these instructions for accidents/incidents involving state, rented, or personal vehicles operated while on University Business only.
What Happens After I File a Report?
- For University Vehicles vs. Private Parties, ORIM will assign the claim to an adjuster and ORIM will contact the parties directly.
- If the vehicle is a personal vehicle, the driver needs to also contact their insurance agent - personal insurance is primary (State coverage is excess).
- Claims paid by private insurance for accidents to privately owned vehicles while being operated on University or State business are not reimbursable from CSU funds. An employee may seek relief from out-of-pocket expenses such as deductibles via the CSU claims process by contacting the campus risk manager. The decision to accept the claim is up to their department, who would be responsible for paying it.
- In order to substantiate and document their property damage claim, the claimant must provide ORIM with a written estimate(s) as follows:
- One estimate if the repairs are less than $500
- Two estimates if the repairs are more than $500
- If the claimant’s car is not drivable, obviously they cannot obtain competitive repair estimates. ORIM will handle this situation.
For Injuries caused by a Vehicle Accident:
Any bodily injury or illness related to work for the university (University employees, employed students, and identified university Volunteers) are to be reported to the employee’s Supervisor IMMEDIATELY for Worker’s Compensation. Worker’s Compensation Claims information can be found at https://afd.calpoly.edu/workers-comp/