Understanding Motor Vehicle Reports on Sospes

In this article, we will discuss motor vehicle incident reports and how to correctly define the different fields within this report.

What's a Motor Vehicle?

Sospes defines a motor vehicle as any road-registered vehicle that is involved in an event causing damage to the vehicle, property, or people.

Motor vehicles can be cars, trucks, forklifts, construction vehicles, or trailers.

A motor vehicle is a self-propelled vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of people or cargo. 

When reporting your incident, if a vehicle of any kind is involved, select "Yes" to the question "Was there a motor vehicle accident?"

What's an Accident?

Any time a motor vehicle is damaged, this is considered an accident. Many of us think of a motor vehicle accident as a collision between two vehicles resulting in damage. Accidents can also include 1 vehicle striking another object such as backing up into a light post. Any time damage occurs to the motorized vehicle it is considered an "accident."

You will have the opportunity to describe who was driving the vehicle. You can select yourself, another employee, third party, or contractor. You will also be asked to describe the damage to the vehicle. Be as specific and detailed as possible. There will also be a section that allows you to take photos of the vehicular damage from multiple angles.

Other Assets

Sometimes, vehicles involved in an accident are pulling trailers. If this is the case, you will be asked more detailed questions about the asset involved.

Was it towed?

There is a question that allows you to include information if the vehicle is towed to another location.

Passengers or Witnesses?

If the motor vehicle incident involved passengers or witnesses, you will have the opportunity to note that down in the following section:

What was the vehicle doing?

There are multiple options to select from in this section. It's important to note that the vehicle involved in the incident may have been parked/not moving. A vehicle does not have to be in motion for it to be considered a motor vehicle accident.

For more information on Managing a Motor Vehicle Report, click here.