Policy Text
Page 1 of 6 6/04 (REV 5-20)
GENERAL ORDER
Vehicle Collisions – Report Requirements, Investigation and
Review Process
The purpose of this General Order is to establish the process for reporting,
investigating, and reviewing collisions or incidents involving Sheriff’s Office vehicles.
I. Personnel involved in a vehicle collision shall do the following:
A. Involved employee(s) responsibilities:
1. Advise the Communication Center .
2. Assess injuries to involved parties .
3. Notify an on -duty supervisor .
4. Complete the Driver’s Report of Accident (County Form #7685) .
5. Complete a vehicle repair/inspection request on all collisions
regardless if there is any visible damage.
6. Complete an Inter-Department Correspondence (IDC) consisting of a
detailed account of the incident.
B. Supervisor responsibilities:
1. Absent exigent circumstances, a supervisor shall respond to all
collisions involv ing a Sheriff’s Office vehicle.
2. Check the welfare of all involved parties.
3. Interview all witnesses.
4. Identify and arrange for the collection of any external video or relevant
evidence.
5. Request CSI respond to video and/or photograph all damage.
Page 2 of 6 6/04 (REV 5-20) 6. Obtain investigative reports from outside agencies.
7. Review and request a copy of all In -Car Camera (ICC) footage through
the on -line request system.
8. Complete a Driver’s Report of Accident if the employee is unable.
a. It is the responsibility of the supervisor to ensure all applicable
report numbers ( e.g., CAD Event, CHP, and SPD Report
numbers ) be identified within the Driver’s Report of Accident
under “Accident Report Number” prior to submittal.
9. The Driver’s Report of Accident should be sent by the supervisor t o the
following within 24 hours:
Original DRA to Risk Management
(916-876-5023/MC 58 -600)
Copy of DRA to PSD -Legal Affairs
(legalaffairs@sacsheriff.com )
Copy of DRA to Fleet Services Bureau
(fleetmanagement@sacsheriff.com )
Copy of DRA to Worker’s Compensation if the employee is
injured (MC 58 -600)
10. If the collision resulted in death or injury to any of the involved
parties, the supervisor shall ensure that all notifications are made
pursuant to General Order 7/04 and all reports relative to the injury
or death are completed in compliance with General Order 26/03.
11. Complete the Vehicle Collision Review (VCR) binder (formerly
referred to as the VARB binder).
12. If a field services supervisor completed the VCR binder for another
division, the VCR binder shall be sent to the involved employee’s
division command staff for review and recommendations.
II. Reporting Requirements:
A. Definitions of C ollisions/Incidents: Incidents involving the collision of
Sheriff’s Office vehicles and any object(s) shall be defined as shown
below for reporting purposes.
1. Preventable Vehicle Collision : A collision or incident involving a
county vehicle either on public or private property where the county
employee is found to be at fault.
Page 3 of 6 6/04 (REV 5-20) 2. Operational Vehicle Collision: Any collision with a county vehicle
which results from a deliberate act by a no n-county driver, a
deliberate act for enforcement purposes, when a county vehicle
operator is in control of the vehicle and an unavoidable object or
condition causes damage to the vehicle, or when a county vehicle
operator is not in control of the vehicle at the time the collision
occurs (e.g. , unoccupied parked vehicles).
3. Non-Preventable Collision : All other vehicle collisions or incidents
where an investigation, either external by an outside law
enforcement agency or internal, determined the county empl oyee
was not at fault for the collision or incident ( e.g., occupied parked
vehicles or when the county operator is rear ended) .
B. A VCR binder shall be completed whenever there is a collision involving a
county vehicle whether or not there is visible damage.
1. The VCR binder shall include the following documents in the below
order:
a. Vehicle Collison Review Routing Sheet
b. Vehicle C ollison Review Binder Checklist
c. Supervisor’s investigative report which shall be completed
on Inter -Department Correspondence utilizing the below
format.
Statement of Problem : Concise narrative summarizing
the inciden t.
Investigation : Detailed reporting of supervisor’s
investigation into all factors related to the cause of the
collision.
Summary: Supervisor’s assessment of the cause of the
collision based upon the investigation and
documentation.
d. Inter-Department Correspondence/statement from involved
or witnessing employee(s).
e. Driver’s Report of Accident (Form 7685) .
f. Any outside agency investigative report(s) (e.g. CHP, SPD,
etc.) when applicable.
g. Copy of driver’s DMV printout.
Page 4 of 6 6/04 (REV 5-20)
h. Copy of driver’s training record.
i. Involved employee’s accident record from the PSD
Secretary .
j. Printed photographs depicting damage and a DVD with all
photos (placed in a photo evidence envelop e).
k. If there is video footage of the collision or incident captured
on the In -Car Camera system or