Peterborough, January 21, 2002 — Accident Support Services International Ltd., Facilitators of
Collision Reporting for Police and the Insurance Industry, is pleased to announce that the
Peterborough Collision Reporting Centre opens today January 21, 2002 to service the
citizens of Peterborough. This opening begins a 6-month pilot project with the
Peterborough Lakefield Community Police Service.
The Peterborough Collision Reporting Centre will provide a
convenient reporting environment to the public for the investigation of property damage
vehicle collisions. Rather than Police attending the scene of the accident, citizens would
exchange information, and then they would have 48 hours to report property damage only
collisions, towed or driveable, at the Collision Reporting Centre. Police will continue to
attend collisions involving injury or death, alcohol, criminal activity, vehicles
transporting dangerous goods or police vehicles.
The Peterborough Collision Reporting Centre is located at
500 Water Street in Peterborough. The hours of operation are from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.,
Monday to Friday, and 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturdays. Citizens no longer will have to
wait for police to arrive for property damage collisions, but rather exchange information
and attend the reporting centre during business hours. Upon the citizens arrival at the
centre, they will be greeted, and a member of our staff will help them complete the police
report, direct them to police personnel as needed, take a photo image of the damage to the
vehicle and apply the “Damage Reported To Police” sticker to the damaged portion
of the vehicle. Not only will the citizen be able to report their accident in a safe and
convenient location, but we will also offer them the opportunity to immediately contact
their Broker or Insurance Company to get their claim started right from the police
station. This provides the citizen a true one-stop solution and helps them get back to
normal as quickly as possible. Insurance Companies fund the program; therefore, there is
no cost to the public or police for these additional services.
Peterborough Chief of Police Terry McLaren agrees that
Collision Reporting Centre will bring benefits to both the citizen and the Police. “I
welcome this new partnership in policing, and I am confident that citizens will see an
improvement to the service they receive as a result of a motor vehicle accident. In the
past, citizens have called police to report accidents and find themselves waiting along
side the roadway for police to arrive, sometimes within minutes, sometimes up to an hour.
Now, citizens involved in collisions that meet the criteria, can immediately go to the
Collision Reporting Center and be greeted by friendly and knowledgeable staff and have all
their needs taken care of. According to our year-end traffic statistics, we were called to
investigate 1,931 collisions, of which as many as 1,561 could have been handled through
the new Collision Reporting Center. In essence, police spend approximately 2 hours at an
accident scene, and with the new Collision Reporting Center looking after the needs of
citizens involved in accidents, police will be able to free up officers to attend calls of
a higher priority, or to concentrate on enforcement strategies in areas of concern. This
is a win-win situation for everyone concerned and I am confident that this 6 month pilot
project will be very successful.”
Accident Support Services is under contract with the
Barrie, London, and Toronto Police Services, as well as with the Ontario Provincial
Police. Our goal is to facilitate an active partnership between the police and insurers in
post accident care by providing knowledgeable advice and assistance to accident victims
with empathy, integrity and availability. This results in increased convenience for the
public as well as higher road safety.
For more information on Accident Support Services Ltd., please call or email Bob Gutwein at
(416) 745-3301, email [email protected]. Please visit our
Website at www.accsupport.com. For further information
on the Peterborough Lakefield Community Police Service, please visit their Web site at
www.peterboroughpolice.com.
