24-3

GENERAL ORDER 24-3 TRAFFIC CRASH INVESTIGATION 1 P L A N T C I T Y P O L I C E D E P A R T M E N T General Order Title TRAFFIC CRASH INVESTIGATION General Order Number 24-3 Effective: 01/01/1996 Revised : 10/29/2025 Reviewed : 11/12/2025 CFA: 18.3, 18.4, 27.16 PURPOSE The purpose of this direc tive is to outline when a traffic crash is to be investi gated by members of the Plant City Police Department, establish timelines for submittal of specific traffic crash reports, and address other factors relating to traf fic crash i nvestigations. It is important that those who investigate and complete traffic crash reports do so uniformly to ensure accuracy. INTENT It is the intent of the Plant City Police Department to conduct investigations of traffic crashes which meet specific criteria and that oc cur in the incorporat ed areas of the city. Certi fied members of the De partment will investigate these crashes . DISCUSSION It is the respon sibility of the Plant City Police Department to respond to the scenes of traffic crash es within our jurisdic tional boundaries. This includes any public street, road, highway, and right -of-way that is open to the public by invitation or infer ence. RULES AND PROCEDURES A. Members will respond to, investigate, and complete a long form traffic crash report in its entirety (i.e., narrative, investigation, interview(s), and diagram) in TRACS on all traffic crashes that occur within the jurisdictional boundaries of the City of P lant City when the following criteria are met: 1. Crash resulting in the death of, personal injury to, or any indication of complain ts of pain or discomfort by any of the parties or passengers involved in the crash 2. Any hit and run crash involving damage to attended vehicles or property ( F.S. 316.061(1)); 3. Any crash involving an operator d riving while under the influence ( F.S. 316.193); 4. Crash involving a train ( motor vehicle/bicycle vs . train) 5. Crash involving a City of Plant City vehicle , whether owned, rented or leased . 6. Any crash which renders a vehicle inoperable to a degree that a wrecker is required to remove the vehicle from the scene of the crash; 7. Crash involving a commercial motor vehic le 24-3.1 RESPONSE TO AND INVESTIGATION OF TRAFFIC CRASHES GENERAL ORDER 24-3 TRAFFIC CRASH INVESTIGATION 2 B. Members will respond to, investigate, and complete a short form traffic crash report in TRACS on all traffic crashes that occur within the jurisdictional boundaries of the City of Plant City when the crash does not meet the criteria for a long form or for a driver’s report/driver’s exchange. 1. When completing a short form traffic crash report, a diagram is not required. 2. Minor/no damage crashes require a short form. 3. If any citation is used a short form must be completed. A. The Plant City Police Department will normally not conduct traffic crash inves tigations or report traffic crashes which occur in the fol lowing situa tions: 1. A crash that occurs on private p roperty where there are no crimi nal traffic violations, nonmoving traffic violations, no inju ries, and no fa talities. If any citations are issued a short form must be completed. 2. Any parking lot traffic crash which involves a hit and run with no investigative leads. 3. Any unattended prop erty crash where there are no inves tigative leads. 4. Any after -the-fact report of a traf fic crash where an officer does not re spond to th e crash location . An exception to this would be if there was a logical or rational reason for the delay in reporting the crash from the original location. B. Members who respond to inci dents as described in this section will complete and issue the drivers in volved a Driver Exchange/Driver's Report form. Members will instruct the drivers involved on how to properly complete the form. The crash will be cleared as a driver exchange. C. Vehicle fires that are not the direct result of an impact are not to be investigated as a traffic crash. Investigations related to vehicle fires of this kind should be documented on a CAD report. If probable cause is present to support the belief that the cr ime of arson has taken place a criminal report should be completed. A. Members that are conducting traffic cras h investigations will document those crashes on Florida Traffic Crash Report forms listed below by using TRACS. Instructions on completing the forms in TRACS are found in the Traffic Crash user manual in PIC’s. 1. LONG FORM TRAFFIC CRASH REPORT in the TRACS program . 2. SHORT FORM, DRIVERS REPORT OF TRAFFIC CRASH, AND DRIVERS EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION in the TRACS prog ram 3. UPDATE FORM in TRACS. B. When charges must be filed as a result of a crash, the Florida Uniform Traffic Citation (UTC) will be used. For misdemeanor cri minal traffic charges where no physical arrest is made, the UTC is the only document needed to make the charge. If a physical arrest is made, or a case is going to be