If you were involved in a minor fender bender and need to claim from your insurer, you can get an incident report on the National Traffic Information System (Natis) website.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic which put severe restrictions on the movements of citizens in the country, the Road Traffic Management Corporation introduced the online Crash Reporting Tool (CRT) to Natis that enabled individuals to report minor accidents without having to physically visit a police (SAPS) station.
All parties involved can log the incident on the CRT and they will receive a legally binding receipt of submission, as well as a PDF summary that can be emailed or downloaded by the individual as proof of submission.
The summary will include an online Crash Report number that will be emailed or sent by SMS which in turn can be used for the submission of insurance claims.
CRT limitations
Insurance underwriters Guardrisk notes that while the CRT is a valuable tool for motorists, it has its limitations.
At present, it is only for minor crashes where no serious injuries or damages occurred.
Incidents that include a person being injured, killed, or involved in a hit-and-run, or where five or more vehicles were entangled, must still be reported immediately to the nearest municipal/metro police, traffic department office, or police station.
Additionally, if you fail to report a crash within 24 hours, the SAPS reserves the right to charge or fine you for late reporting. You must also be able to prove that you were incapacitated to submit the report on time.
Users must furthermore be meticulous when logging an incident as you cannot edit information after submission.
To make any amendments, you will have to go to the SAPS and complete an official accident report with an affidavit stating why you are changing your statement.
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