By the TruckerNavi compliance team, led by Dmitry Borovoy, a New Jersey-licensed insurance producer and author of "Safety Manager: From Zero to Expert".
This article covers the half of the Crash Preventability Determination Program that happens away from the form: what the driver collects in the first hour so a request is possible at all, how a New Jersey rear-end packet comes together, and the mistakes that close a request before anyone reads it. The trigger rules themselves, eligible crash types, mandatory documents, filing in DataQs, the deadlines, what a determination changes in your scores and what to do when the answer comes back Preventable or Undecided, are in Crash Preventability in 2026: Rear-Ended and It Still Counts on CSA?
One number before you start. Of the 74,513 determinations issued as of June 26, 2026, 1,822 were Undecided and only 1,245 were Preventable (CPDP quarterly statistics). Undecided is what you get when the evidence conflicts or a requested document never arrives. A weak packet loses more requests than a genuinely disputed crash does.
| Document | Where to get it | How long it takes | What makes the packet stronger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police accident report (PAR) | The department that worked the crash. In New Jersey, NJTR-1 reports by the State Police, Turnpike and Parkway are sold through the NJSP crash report portal: $13 non-toll roads, $5 toll roads, download link valid 14 days | After approval, usually days; fatal crashes longer | Diagram, narrative naming the cause, contributing factors on the other driver. Upload as document type "Police Accident Report (PAR)" |
| Video (dashcam, business or traffic cameras) | Your camera at once; third parties by request | Days, before overwrite | Only the needed segment, timestamp visible, matching the PAR. Required for type 21 |
| Photos from the scene | Driver's phone | Immediately | Vehicle positions, signal or sign, damage, plates, skid marks |
| Witnesses | Contacts from the scene, written statements or affidavits | Days | Confirm the signal state or the other driver's speed |
| ELD and telematics | ELD provider, day report; kept at least 6 months under 49 CFR 395.8(k) | Days | Duty status and speed 0 at the timestamp of the crash |
| Court and insurance documents | State court; the other party's insurer | Weeks to months | Charge against the other driver, guilty plea, payment by the other insurer |
| DOT post-accident test results (fatal crashes) | Collection site, MRO, consortium | Alcohol within 8 hours, drugs within 32 hours, 49 CFR 382.303 | Without them, Undecided or Preventable |
| Driver's license and medical certificate | Driver qualification file | Immediately | FMCSA may request them; missing documents produce Undecided |
Two traps hide inside the evidence rules. For type 09 the Eligibility Guide requires proof of an arrest, a charge, a failed test or a refusal: "open containers, contributing factors, or officer opinion are not enough to qualify". For type 07 the heavy traffic itself must be documented in the PAR or on video, because "normal highway volumes are not considered traffic".
| Determination | Notation in SMS | Counted in Crash Indicator BASIC | Noted in PSP | What next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not Preventable | Separate table, "Reviewed - Not Preventable Crashes" | No | Yes, for the 5-year crash window | Nothing; the crash stays visible |
| Preventable | "Reviewed - Preventable: FMCSA reviewed this crash and determined that it was Preventable" | Yes | No | Reopen with new documents |
| Undecided | "Reviewed - Undecided: FMCSA reviewed this crash and could not make a preventability determination based on the evidence provided" | Yes | No | Reopen with the missing documents |
| Closed: Not Eligible | None | Yes | No | Refile under the correct type, if one exists |
Everything above depends on the first hour. The full checklist is in truck accident: the first 60 minutes; these are the items a CPDP request lives or dies on.
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You cannot delete a crash, but you can take it out of the Crash Indicator BASIC calculation through FMCSA's Crash Preventability Determination Program. The crash must be one of 21 eligible types and no older than 5 years. File a Request for Data Review in DataQs under "Crash could not be prevented", attach the police accident report under that document type, add video, photos and ELD data, and wait for one of three answers. Only Not Preventable removes the crash from the measure; it stays listed on the public SMS page. As of June 26, 2026, 71,446 of 74,513 decided requests ended Not Preventable.
Yes, until FMCSA says otherwise. SMS counts every reportable crash in the Crash Indicator BASIC regardless of fault: severity weight 1 for a tow-away or 2 for an injury or fatality, plus 1 for a hazardous materials release, and time weight 3 for the first 6 months, 2 for months 6 to 12, 1 for months 12 to 24. A police report blaming the other driver does not change that by itself. A Not Preventable determination through the CPDP does: the crash is removed from the calculation, though it stays listed on the public SMS page.
There is no set deadline. FMCSA's program page carries a banner saying requests are taking an average of 90 days to process because of high volume, and the Submitter Guide page says more than 90 days. Before that, the state has up to 90 days to send the crash to MCMIS, and you cannot file until it appears in DataQs. After the decision FMCSA posts the result to SMS and PSP within 60 days, and SMS refreshes monthly from a snapshot taken on the third or last Friday. From crash to clean snapshot, plan on roughly 5 to 8 months.
Yes, without exception. FMCSA's FAQ states that requests with no police accident report are immediately closed as not eligible, and the Submitter Guide says the Submit button appears only when a file is attached under the document type "Police Accident Report (PAR)". If the report is not ready, save the request as a draft or fax the report with the barcoded cover sheet to (617) 494-2892. In New Jersey, State Police, Turnpike and Parkway reports are sold through the NJSP crash report portal for $13 or $5; municipal reports come from the responding department.
Yes, and that is the point for the driver. The PSP report pulls 5 years of crashes and 3 years of roadside inspections from MCMIS, and FMCSA's program page says Not Preventable determinations are also noted in the Pre-employment Screening Program. The crash itself remains on the report; the notation next to it tells the next employer FMCSA reviewed it and found the driver could not have prevented it. Preventable and Undecided outcomes carry no PSP notation. FMCSA posts the result within 60 days of the decision.
Yes. FMCSA's FAQ (question 14) says Not Preventable crashes continue to be listed on the public SMS website, in a separate table titled "Reviewed - Not Preventable Crashes", and are excluded only from the Crash Indicator BASIC calculation. SAFER's company snapshot keeps showing crash counts for the past 24 months. What changes is invisible to the public: the measure and percentile in the Crash Indicator BASIC, which only the carrier and enforcement can see, no longer include the crash.
Nothing. The DataQs Help Center states that anyone may register for a free DataQs account and enter a Request for Data Review at no cost. The only expenses are copies of the police report (in New Jersey, $13 for a non-toll road report and $5 for a toll road report through the State Police portal) and, if you use one, a representative who prepares the packet.
No. The only mandatory document is the police accident report. Video is required only for crash type 21, where the video itself is the basis for eligibility, and it is the strongest supporting evidence for types 07, 08 and 18, where heavy traffic, the signal state or a loss of control must be shown rather than described.
The request is closed immediately as not eligible. Get the report first: in New Jersey, State Police, Turnpike and Parkway reports are sold through the NJSP crash report portal, and municipal reports come from the department that responded. DataQs lets you save the request as a draft and upload the PAR later, or fax it with the barcoded cover sheet.
FMCSA's determination is a data decision for SMS and PSP. It does not establish fault. Underwriters work from loss runs, the police report and the claim file, so how they treat the notation is a question for your licensed insurance producer. We do not publish insurance prices.
Each crash is a separate Request for Data Review tied to its own FMCSA report number, so you file one request per crash. There is no cap on the number of requests: FMCSA's statistics show one carrier has filed 2,039 of them. Prepare a complete packet for each rather than reusing one explanation.
Reopen the request in DataQs with documents FMCSA did not have the first time; a request reopened without new information is closed again without change. Check whether the crash type was right, and if the request was closed as Not Eligible, refile under the correct type. Of 6,005 reopened requests as of June 26, 2026, 1,632 ended Not Preventable.
Both. A motor carrier enters DataQs through its FMCSA Portal account and selects DataQs from the list of systems; a driver signs in through login.gov with the same email. Both paths are free and both require multi-factor authentication. A Not Preventable result is posted to the carrier's SMS and noted on the driver's PSP record.
No. FMCSA states that CPDP determinations do not affect any carrier's safety rating or ability to operate, do not change preventability findings made in investigations under 49 CFR part 385, and are not a basis for penalties or sanctions. The program changes only how the crash is counted in the Crash Indicator BASIC and how it is flagged in PSP.