Edmonton's collision reporting centres in high demand

With icy roads and the holiday rush, collisions are common on Edmonton roads this month and the city's collision reporting centres are bustling with damaged vehicles.

The two new collision reporting centres opened in September. 

In theory, the process is quite simple: join the line of cars leading to a garage where staff will take photos of the damage. Then, get a buzzer that will alert you when it's time to go into the building and file a report at a kiosk.

But many Edmontonians at the centre in northwest Edmonton were unhappy with the process. 

"I could do this online, it seems so unnecessary," said Garret Holden, who was reporting his fender-bender Thursday.

"If someone is just going to take pictures and take a statement, I think I could probably do that at home and email it myself."

Bibi Safi with Accident Support Services International, which runs the reporting centres, said with a new system comes with bumps in the road.

"This is something new for everyone, so sometimes it's a bit of a backup with the process just because there have been numerous snowstorms," she said.

The centre employs a handful of staff to help people fill out their reports at the kiosk, but some say what once took 15 minutes now takes 45 minutes or an hour.

Safi said wait times are posted online, and they generally never exceed 45 minutes.

"We do try our best to get everyone in and out in under 45 minutes. There have been snowy days where people had to wait a little bit more. But overall, it's a good flow and I think it's going well so far," she said.

Some drivers agreed with Safi, saying they felt the process was short and streamlined.

"I've been here about an hour, but it wasn't long. It was really fast," said Crystal Martin. She went to the centre after she hit an ice patch and crashed into a plow. 

Rodney Stafford was in a fender bender, but his vehicle wasn't damaged. He said he waited in a 90-minute lineup to report.

"I don't know why that can't be done online in today's society with the internet."

"I went to the local police station because I thought that's where you're supposed to go for it, and I didn't know that this was your only option for it. But it does take up quite a bit of your day … so I'm expecting to be here a while."

Except in the case of incidents that involve criminal acts, extensive property damage, serious injuries or fatalities, other collisions must be reported at the centres.

EPS said the force responds to 34,000 motor vehicle collisions annually.

ASSI's reporting centres are located at 15750 116th Avenue and at 5805 87A Street.

Drivers have 48 hours to report a collision at one of the two centres.