Other morning motorists faced delays as emergency services dealt with the incident for more than an hour on the busy A689 Stockton Road, near the turn off for Greatham, from around 7.30am on Wednesday.
The injured pair were taken to Stockton’s University Hospital of North Tees.
A Cleveland Police statement later read: “Police were called to a two-vehicle collision on Stockton Road at 7.34am, involving a Ford Fiesta and an Audi A1.
"Both drivers were taken to hospital with minor injuries. The road was cleared by 8.43am.”
Cleveland Fire Brigade and North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) crews also attended the collision.
An NEAS spokesperson said: “We were called at 7.28am to a two vehicle road traffic collision on the A689, Hartlepool
“One double crew ambulance stopped at the scene and another was dispatched. Two patients were taken to North Tees Hospital.”