Rockville Car Accident Resources

Rockville is located in Montgomery County, Maryland just north of Washington, D.C. Due to the expanding populations, and increase in federal government employment, this area, in the Capital Region, faces some of the most congested traffic in the State of Maryland. Some of the main roads in and around Rockville include Route 270, Rockville Pike (Route 355), Viers Mill Road (Route 586), Norbeck Road (Route 28), and the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495).

What happens at the accident scene in the period shortly after the collision can, and usually will, be important to maintaining your right under Maryland law to be compensated justly for your injuries and damages which might include strains and sprains to muscle tissue, ligaments and tendons, herniated discs, broken bones, concussions, as well as property damage which may result in your vehicle being declared a total loss, towing and storage costs, vehicle rental fees, lost wages, and medical bills that often involve ambulance charges, emergency room bills, radiology bills, orthopedic and physical therapy expenses, and costs of prescription medications.

To ensure you protect your rights under the law, we recommend we recommend printing out the list below and placing it in your automobile glove box. We also suggest keeping a camera in your car so that if you are in auto collision, you can take photographs of the accident scene and the involved vehicles. However, if you do not have a camera, remember your cell phone which probably does have a camera.

  1. STOP your car- even if the accident seems minor.
  2. CALL THE POLICE to investigate the accident, and fully cooperate with the officer once he or she arrives at scene.
  3. DO NOT DISCUSS THE ACCIDENT with anyone except the police officer on the scene.
  4. EXCHANGE INSURANCE INFORMATION with the other driver prior to leaving the accident scene.
  5. GET THE NAME, ADDRESS AND LICENSE PLATE NUMBER of the other DRIVER.
  6. GET NAMES, ADDRESSES AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF ALL WITNESSES.
  7. TAKE PICTURES of the damage to your vehicle, the other vehicle, and any skid marks left on the road.
  8. DO NOT GIVE A RECORDED STATEMENT to any insurance company until a sufficient period of time passes for you to ascertain whether you have sustained injury in the motor vehicle accident, and the severity of the injury.
  9. IF YOU ARE INJURED, get evaluated by a medical doctor, or go to the nearest emergency room as soon as possible.
  10. IF YOUR VEHICLE IS TOWED, remove as many valuables as practical.

The Rockville Police Department has also published a post accident “to-do” list that contains some additional helpful tips.

Police Reports

If you are involved in an auto accident within Rockville’s city limits, officers from either the Rockville Police Department or from the Montgomery County Police Department’s 1st District may respond. If the involved vehicles are too badly damaged to be driven safely away from the accident scene, or if any involved persons is injured badly enough to require emergency treatment, the responding police officers will complete a Motor Vehicle Accident Report.

If a Motor Vehicle Accident Report (police report) is completed, it will contain valuable information. The Montgomery County Police Department has developed the Vehicle Accident Report Purchase System, which is an online database where car accident victims or their attorneys can obtain police reports from certain accidents for a $10.00 fee. In order to complete the request, you must have the collision report number (CR #). The responding police officer will usually provide the collision report number prior to clearing the accident scene.

Reports completed by an officer from the Rockville Police Department must be requested in person at the Rockville Police Department. The cost of the report will be $5.00.

Here is a sample State of Maryland Motor Vehicle Accident Report. No matter whether a report is completed by a city, county police officer, or by a Maryland State Trooper, all reports will be completed on the same form.

Local Emergency Rooms:

Below is a list of Montgomery County area hospitals where you may seek treatment for injuries caused by an Rockville automobile crash:

If you have been treated by the emergency medicine providers of any of the above medical centers, medical records and bills may be obtained with a proper request. The links attached to each hospital will direct you to the medical center web pages that either provide contact information for the hospital’s medical records department or explain how to request these records.

Tow Yards:

Following accidents, if your vehicle is too severely damaged to be driven from the scene, the police will have it towed to a tow yard. Montgomery County contracts with various local area tow truck companies to remove damaged vehicles following automobile wrecks. These companies are licensed and insured against damage that may occur to a vehicle while it is being towed.

Damaged vehicles may be towed to one of the participating tow companies or to the county impound lot located at 305 Metropolitan Grove Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879. If your vehicle is towed to the impound lot, it will be available for release Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

If you or a family member has been involved in an automobile crash in Rockville, and your vehicle was towed, you should contact the police precinct that responded to the scene of the accident in order to determine which tow company has your automobile. If an accident report was completed by the responding officer, his or her precinct number will appear in Box Number 11 on the top, left hand side of the report.

Before attempting to pick up your vehicle, you should contact the tow yard and determine what type of identification you will need to present before they will release your car. Additionally, if you plan to have a relative or friend retrieve your car, you should advise the tow company of this fact and ask what form of written authorization you need to provide the person picking up your car.