Houston Accident GuideIndependent public guide · not a law firm
Call 911

Educational information only. This is not legal advice, medical advice, or an emergency service. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and a disclaimer is not a promise that the page fits your crash. If someone may be hurt, call 911.

Houston, Texas · sources checked November 8, 2026

After a crash, start with the people, then the paperwork.

A field guide for the City of Houston and the roads around it. It separates safety steps from Texas statutes, names the agency that actually covers the spot, and links the official page for each consequential claim.

Open the checklistThe first hour

If you are there now

Call 911 before you read the rest.

Use 911 for injuries, a blocked freeway, a driver who left, or any scene that does not feel safe. Houston Police’s non-emergency number is only for non-emergencies inside the city limits, and it is not a medical line.

Call 911

Six moves for the first minutes

Read the linked page before treating a line as law.

  1. 01

    Get people out of danger

    If someone may be hurt, if a car is in a live lane and will not move, or if you are not sure, call 911. Do not stand in a travel lane to talk.

  2. 02

    Move a drivable car when the freeway rule applies

    Texas law tells drivers to clear a metropolitan freeway when every vehicle can be driven normally and safely. A wreck that needs a tow is not that situation.

  3. 03

    Exchange the information the statute names

    For the crashes § 550.023 covers, that is your name, address, registration number, and the name of your liability insurer, plus your license if asked and you have it.

  4. 04

    Notice the agency for that spot

    Inside the City of Houston, that is Houston Police. A Houston street address in another city, or in unincorporated Harris County, is a different department.

  5. 05

    Care before paperwork

    CDC says head-injury danger signs need emergency care and that symptoms can show up later. An insurance file is not a reason to wait on those signs.

  6. 06

    Keep records off this website

    Photos, plates, and policy numbers belong in your own notes. The checklist on this site stores only checkmarks, in this browser.

Where to go next

City of Houston is not Harris County.

Houston Police publish 911 and a non-emergency number for locations inside the city limits. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office publishes different numbers and its own traffic-crash notes for crashes it handles. Pasadena, Baytown, Bellaire, and other incorporated cities are not HPD calls. The Who to call page keeps those jurisdictions apart and does not invent a phone number for a department this draft did not open.