The accident just happened. You’re shaken. Traffic is still moving around you. And within minutes, sometimes less, someone is already asking if you need a tow.
That pressure to decide fast, before you’ve had a moment to think, is exactly where costly mistakes get made. The wrong tow company, a missed photo, a signature given too quickly, any one of those things can complicate your insurance claim, add hundreds of dollars in fees, or put your vehicle in the wrong hands. In Riverside, where major freeway corridors like the 91, the 215, and the 60 see thousands of daily commuters and a steady share of collision calls, knowing what to do before it happens is one of the most practical things a driver can have in their back pocket.
This guide walks through the steps clearly, in the order they matter, so you’re not figuring it out from scratch at the worst possible moment.
What to Do at the Scene Before Any Tow Happens
The first minutes after a crash set the tone for everything that follows. Before you think about towing, take care of safety and documentation.
Move the vehicle if it’s safe to do so. California law requires drivers to move their vehicles out of the flow of traffic after a minor collision if the car is drivable and no one is seriously injured. Turn on your hazard lights immediately. If the vehicle is not drivable or if moving it could cause further damage, leave it where it is and stay inside if exiting the vehicle puts you near moving traffic.
Call 911. In California, you are required to report an accident to law enforcement if there is any injury, significant property damage, or if the collision is blocking traffic. In Riverside, both the Riverside Police Department and the California Highway Patrol respond to accidents depending on whether the incident occurred on city streets or a state highway or freeway. Don’t assume the other driver will call. Make the call yourself and wait for officers to arrive before authorizing any tow.
Document everything before the truck arrives. Once a tow truck hooks your vehicle and moves it, the scene is gone. Take photos of all vehicle damage, license plates, the positions of the vehicles in the road, any visible skid marks or debris, and the surrounding area. Exchange insurance and contact information with all involved parties. Remove any valuables, personal documents, medication, or anything sentimental from the vehicle, once it’s in an impound yard, access may be limited until fees are paid.
Know who is authorizing the tow. This is the step most drivers miss. In California, a tow after an accident can be authorized in one of three ways: by law enforcement under California Vehicle Code §22651, by your insurance company under your policy, or by you directly. If police initiate the tow, your vehicle goes to a yard on the department’s rotation list. If you’re given the option to call your own company, you control the destination, and that matters for both cost and convenience.
One red flag to watch for immediately: tow trucks that arrive at the scene within minutes of the crash without being called. These are scanner chasers, operators who monitor emergency frequencies and rush to accident scenes hoping to hook a vehicle before the driver has time to think. They are one of the most common towing scams in Southern California, and the pressure tactics they use, urgency, false claims of insurance affiliation, insistence that you sign quickly, are a reliable signal to step back and verify. Never release your vehicle to an operator you did not personally call or that law enforcement did not specifically authorize.
Navigating the Tow in Riverside, What’s Different Here
Riverside sits at the intersection of several major freeway corridors, and jurisdiction matters when your vehicle is towed after a crash. Accidents on city streets fall under Riverside Police Department authority. Accidents on state routes and freeways, the 91, 215, 60, and 15, typically involve the California Highway Patrol, specifically the CHP Riverside Area office.
That distinction affects where your vehicle goes. Police-ordered tows in Riverside go to yards on the department’s approved rotation list, and the responding officer will document the tow location in the incident report. If you don’t have that report yet, here’s how to locate your vehicle quickly:
- Call the Riverside Police Department non-emergency line at (951) 826-5700 for city street incidents
- Contact CHP Riverside Area dispatch at (951) 637-8000 for freeway and state route incidents
- Check FindMyTowedCar.com to see if your vehicle has been logged into a regional tow database
- Review Caltrans QuickMap for incident notes if the crash occurred on a state route
One important detail: tow yards typically take up to two hours to register a vehicle into their system after it arrives. If your car doesn’t appear in a search right away, wait and check again before assuming something went wrong.
Storage fees begin the moment your vehicle arrives at the yard, not when you call, not when you show up. In the Riverside and San Bernardino County area, daily storage fees typically run $75–$90 per day, with a base tow rate generally in the range of $300–$325 for light-duty vehicles under standard Towing Service Agreement caps. Every day of delay adds to that balance. Contacting the yard and your insurance company as quickly as possible is one of the most direct ways to limit costs after an accident tow.
After the Tow, Protecting Your Wallet and Your Claim
Once your vehicle is secured, the focus shifts to documentation, insurance, and retrieval.
Call your insurance company immediately. Your insurer needs to know where the vehicle was taken as soon as possible. Depending on your policy, collision coverage or roadside assistance may cover or reimburse towing and storage fees. Many insurers also have preferred tow providers who can simplify the release process. If the other driver was at fault, their liability insurance may ultimately be responsible for your towing and storage costs, but that determination takes time, and storage fees don’t wait. Notify your own insurer first and let them coordinate from there.
Understand what you’re entitled to see. You have the right to an itemized invoice showing every charge, hook-up fee, mileage, after-hours gate fee, daily storage, any recovery or winching charges. Review it line by line before paying. If a charge doesn’t make sense or wasn’t disclosed before the tow, ask for a written explanation. A reputable company will provide one without hesitation.
Know your retrieval options based on the vehicle’s condition. If the car is repairable, your insurer can often arrange transfer directly to a body shop, which stops further storage charges from accruing at the impound yard. If the vehicle is totaled, your insurance adjuster will typically arrange transfer to a salvage facility like Copart or IAA. Either way, getting that determination made quickly keeps the storage clock from running any longer than necessary.
If you believe you were overcharged, you have real options. File a complaint with the California Bureau of Automotive Repair for violations of towing regulations, or contact the Riverside Police Department’s Tow Administration for tows initiated under their authority. Keep all receipts, photos, and written communications before making contact, documentation is what turns a complaint into a result.
If you had the option to choose your own tow company and weren’t sure who to call, the same criteria apply after an accident as any other time. Licensed, insured, locally experienced, and transparent about pricing before the truck rolls. Those four things eliminate most of the risk. For a fuller breakdown of what to look for, the guide to choosing a trustworthy tow company covers it in detail.
Stay Calm, Stay in Control
Accidents move fast, but your decisions at the scene set everything that follows. Safety first, documentation before the tow, verification before you sign anything, and your insurance company notified as quickly as possible, those four steps protect your vehicle, your claim, and your wallet more than anything else you can do in those first critical minutes.
The stress of a crash is real. But walking into it with a clear plan means you’re never starting from zero at the worst possible moment.
Foglesong Towing serves Riverside and the broader Inland Empire 24/7 with licensed, insured drivers, flatbed and wheel-lift equipment matched to your vehicle, and accident recovery experience built over more than four decades in Southern California. If you’ve been in a crash and need a tow you can trust, contact Foglesong Towing any time, day or night, for straightforward help when it matters most.