Georgia Crash Reporting Instructions
The Georgia Motor Vehicle Crash Report (GDOT-523) is the official document used in the collection and dissemination of crash data by Georgia’s law enforcement agencies. Throughout this guide users will note various data fields have been designated as Critical Data Items and have been identified with a symbol. Every effort should be made to ensure that accurate data is reported in these data fields. Additionally, for each data field, users will find information useful in coding fields that are often inconsistent.
The report structure, fields, and attributes were developed in coordination with GDOT, Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS), Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC), Georgia Department of Public Safety (GDPS), Georgia Motor Carrier Compliance Division (GMCCD), and Georgia State Patrol (GSP) with the support of the Traffic Records Coordinating Committee Executive Board and Task Team.
Produced in cooperation with the following agencies:
Highlighted Topics
Fully Autonomous Vehicles
A Fully Autonomous Vehicle is a Motor Vehicle equipped with an automated driving system that has the capability to perform all aspects of the Dynamic Driving Task without a human driver within a limited or unlimited operational design...
Suspected at Fault
In every crash someone is at-fault or negligent, even if the fault is shared between the Units. Determining fault in a crash involves identifying the negligent Driver/Pedestrian/Bicyclist responsible for the crash. This determination is...
Private Property
Any crash that occurs on Private Property or privately maintained roadways. The crash must have occurred completely within a private drive or road, private property, or parking lot and did not originate on the trafficway. If a roadway’s...
Contributing Factors
The contributing factors in a crash are, in the investigating officer’s opinion, factors or conditions that contributed to the resulting crash. The officer may not have enough evidence to file a traffic charge but does have enough data...
Crash Narrative
The crash Narrative is used to describe what happened prior to, during, and after the crash. It should contain pertinent facts and information as shown in the Diagram, to completely describe the crash event. As every crash scene is unique,...
Commercial Motor Vehicles
For crash reporting purposes, a vehicle is classified as a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) if it meets the following criteria: a truck or truck/trailer combination or other vehicle combination having a manufacturer's gross weight rating...
Occupant Protection
Occupant protection refers to safety features like seat belts, child restraint systems, airbags, motorcycle helmets, bicycle helmets and reflective clothing. Every year hundreds of unrestrained and improperly restrained drivers...
Fatal Crash
A crash in which a person involved in the crash dies from injuries sustained in the crash. Fatal and Serious Injury resulting from motor vehicle crashes are key performance measures tracked by multiple federal and state departments,...
Hit & Run/Unknown Person
A crash where one or more vehicles or persons have left the scene before first responders arrived. The person may leave the scene either on foot or in a vehicle. Unknown Vehicle: A crash where one or more vehicles have left the...
Crash Location
The following fields describe the location of the crash: County, City, Latitude/Longitude, Roadway of Occurrence, Intersecting Road, Location at Area of Impact, Narrative, and Diagram. These fields must agree when reading the report. ...