MVA Without Injuries: Police Reports?

[Dr. Zuki 1]

In Yonkers and the rest of the county, will most PD's respond to take a report of a motor vehicle accident without injuries? People tell me when they call they are told to exchange papers only....but what if your insurer requires a police report???

Thanks

[Guest TOYBUFF911]

In Yonkers and the rest of the county, will most PD's respond to take a report of a motor vehicle accident without injuries? People tell me when they call they are told to exchange papers only....but what if your insurer requires a police report???

Thanks

←

Policy in Yonkers is. If there are no injuries and it does not involve City property or very extensive damage requiring a tow truck, then you exchange information and notify your insurance company. If there is difficulty or someone is failing to produce information then it will be prioritzed and dispatched to the next available car.

If you say your pinky hurts though, then we will gladly send 5-7 fire trucks, 2-3 ambulances, 1-2 ESU trucks, a sector car, a Sgt, an ESU Sgt. and if it is on the highway we will send even more unnecessary stuff plus 2-3 more County or State police cars. LOL

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

We have to take accident reports for anything. It s*cks. If the damage is minimal I usually get both parties to exchange info saves paperwork. Also when we have snow storms or other storms where you know there is going to be fender benders I don't do the reports. I hand out the forms to the drivers and let them fill them out. Not sure if I am supposed to do that, but I do.

[AFS1970 504]

Another one of my favorite topics / rants:

Why should a requirement made by an insurance company (Or Cellular Provider, ect.) that is really only binding on their clients have any effect on how a police department responds to calls?

In this day and age of higher call volume and not enough manpower, who are these private businesses to require anything? The Police department is a branch of the government and is specifically charged with investigating criminal matters. Here in CT we have no legal requirement to file police reports for Motor Vehicle Collisions, and I believe with the no fault laws, there is unlikely to be criminal proceedings in the vast majority of these calls.

There should be no such thing as any outside entity requiring the police to do anything. At best they can request that something be done, but the decision on when and if to act has to rest with the police department, and should be an SOP.

Insurance companies place these requirements on their clients so that they do not have to hire adjustors to investigate damage. They are using the police to do their work for them. If a company requires this report they should simply be told that the police department in question does not provide that service.

[trauma74 111]

At the PD that I dispatch for, if a police officer responds to the scene of an MVA, he will complete an accident report unless requested by the parties involved to not complete one. Unless a complaint is received for a hit & run MVA, our officers do not complete a report. We are instructed to give them a "civilian accident report" for them to fill out on their own and submit to their insurance companies.

On a side note.............when someone comes in for a lost or supposedly "stolen" cell phone, we make a blotter entry only unless they know who stole the phone.

I truly believe that 99% of people that come in saying their cell phone was lost or stolen, just want a new phone and do not want to pay full price!

[20y2 43]

We only have to complete them for hit and runs, MVAs with injuries and municipality involved accidents, otherwise you get a MV104.

[helicopper 1,050]

Yes, the "my insurance company/cell phone company told me I need a police report" calls. What a joy! The responsibility is for the operator to report the accident to DMV - not to the police.

The only requirement for police to report/investigate accidents are found in the Vehicle and Traffic Law (below). There's no mention of insurance or cell phone companies in the statute. Many departments choose to take reports on property damage accidents but that is more of a public service than anything else.

§ 603. Accidents; police authorities and coroners to report.  1. Every

  police  or judicial officer to whom an accident resulting in injury (empahsis added) to a

  person shall have been reported, pursuant to the foregoing provisions of

  this chapter, shall immediately investigate the facts, or cause the same

  to be investigated, and report the matter to the commissioner forthwith;

  provided, however, that the report of the accident is made to the police

  officer or judicial officer within five days after such accident.  Every

  coroner,  or  other  official  performing like functions, shall likewise

  make a report to the commissioner with respect to all  deaths  found  to

  have  been  the  result  of motor vehicle or motorcycle accidents.  Such

  report shall include information on the  width  and  length  of  trucks,

  tractors,  trailers and semitrailers, which are in excess of ninety-five

  inches in width or thirty-four feet in length and which are involved  in

  such  accidents,  whether  such  accident  took place in a work area and

  whether it was  being  operated  with  an  overweight  or  overdimension

  permit.    Such report shall distinctly indicate and include information

  as to whether the inflatable restraint  system  inflated  and  deployed.

  Nothing  contained  in  this  subdivision  shall be deemed to preclude a

  police officer from reporting any other accident which, in the  judgment

  of  such  police  officer,  would  be  required  to  be  reported to the

  commissioner by the operator  of  a  vehicle  pursuant  to  section  six

  hundred five of this article.

    2. In addition to the requirements of subdivision one of this section,

  every  police officer or judicial officer to whom an accident shall have

  been reported involving  a  commercial  vehicle  as  defined  in  either

  subdivision  four  of  section  five hundred one-a or subdivision one of

  section  five  hundred  nine-p  of  this  chapter  shall  immediately

  investigate  the  facts, or cause the same to be investigated and report

  the matter to the commissioner forthwith, provided that  the  report  of

  the  accident  is  made to the police officer or judicial officer within

  five days after such accident, whenever such accident  has  resulted  in

  (i)  a  vehicle  being  towed  from  the accident scene as the result of

  incurring disabling damage, (ii) a fatality,  or  (iii)  any  individual

  being  transported  to  a  medical  facility to receive treatment as the

  result of physical injury sustained in the accident.

  §  603-a. Accidents; police authorities to investigate. 1. In addition

  to the requirements of  section  six  hundred  three  of  this  article,

  whenever  a motor vehicle accident results in serious physical injury or

  death to a person, and such accident either is discovered  by  a  police

  officer,  or  reported  to  a police officer within five days after such

  accident occurred, the police shall conduct  an  investigation  of  such

  accident.  Such  investigation  shall  be  conducted for the purposes of

  making a determination of the following: the facts and circumstances  of

  the  accident;  the  type  or  types  of  vehicles  involved,  including

  passenger  motor  vehicles,  commercial  motor  vehicles,  motorcycles,

  limited  use  motorcycles,  off-highway  motorcycles,  and/or  bicycles;

  whether pedestrians were involved; the contributing factor  or  factors;

  whether  it  can  be  determined  if  a  violation or violations of this

  chapter occurred, and if so, the specific  provisions  of  this  chapter

  which  were violated and by whom; and, the cause of such accident, where

  such cause can be determined. The police shall forward  a  copy  of  the

  investigation  report  to  the commissioner within five business days of

  the completion of such report.

    2. For purposes of this section, the following terms  shall  have  the

  following meanings:

    (a)  "commercial  motor  vehicle"  shall have the same meaning as such

  term is defined in either subdivision four of section five hundred one-a

  or subdivision one of section five hundred nine-p of this chapter; and

    ( "serious physical injury" shall have the same meaning as such term

  is defined in section 10.00 of the penal law.