What If I Am a Passenger and the Driver Files a False Report?

For a driver’s accident report to be credible, any passengers in the vehicle at the time of the incident must corroborate the driver’s account of what occurred. As a result, drivers who file false accident reports often recruit the assistance of their passengers in lying to the authorities and/or the car insurance company. What few passengers realize, however, is that confirming a driver’s false account of an accident or doing nothing about the false report can have serious financial and legal consequences.

When the Passenger Is Implicated

After an accident, the police will usually collect a statement from all drivers, passengers, and witnesses present. Often, these parties are interviewed separately to prevent them from unduly influencing one another's accounts of the events. If a driver files a false accident report with the authorities, the passenger may be implicated if he/she knowingly complies with the driver. The passenger must know that the driver was not telling the truth at the time the report was filed for him/her to be charged with a crime.

The Repercussions

If a passenger provides a false account of an accident or allows a driver to file a fake report without speaking up, he/she may be considered an accessory to insurance fraud. Depending on the state and the egregiousness of the false accident report, this could be anything from a misdemeanor to a felony charge. What’s more, a passenger trying to collect an injury claim from the driver’s insurance company will likely be denied if he/she was involved in falsifying the accident report. The passenger could be stuck with thousands of dollars of medical bills for not telling the truth about the incident.

Passengers should also remember that they will typically have to tell their stories to the insurance company as well as law enforcement officials. Insurers record the statements passengers make, and if a passenger’s statement is found to be false, the recording could be used against him/her in the prosecution of insurance fraud. To avoid the legal hassle and receive whatever claim they might be entitled to, passengers should always give a full and accurate account of the accident, despite what the driver may say.