Policy Text
San Francisco Police Department 9.02
GENERAL ORDER Rev. 09/06/23
Eff. 10/ 17/23
Page 1 of 7
Vehicle Crash es
9.02. 01 PURPOSE
The purpose of this order is to establish guidelines for managing traffic crash scenes and
set forth policy and procedure for the investigation and reporting of traffic crashes
occurring within the City and County of San Francisco.
9.02.0 2 POLICY
A. Investigation and Report - It is the policy of the San Francisco Police Department
to investigate and report the following types of vehicle crashes :
1. All traffic c rashes resulting in death or injury.
2. All hit and r un traffic c rashes resulting in death, injury or property damage.
3. All runaway vehicle c rashes resulting in death, injury, or property damage.
4. All traffic c rashes involving a city- owned vehicle or damage to city owned
property.
5. All school bus c rashes .
6. All traffic c rashes involving an arrest.
7. When the driver of any involved vehicle is suspected of being under the influence
of alcohol or drugs.
8. All traffic injury c rashes involving bicycle s and pedestrian s.
9. All Autonomous Vehicle (AV) injury and non -injury crashes, where vehicle was
physically driven or remotely monitored, shall be documented on a CHP 555
report.
B. Property Damage Only - Members need not investigate or report non- injury
(property damage) vehicle c rashes that do not include any of the above -listed
criteria.
C. Report Completion - It is the policy of the San Francisco Police Department for its
members to follow the California Highway Patrol 's Crash Investigation Manual
(“CIM ”) format to complete the Traffic C rash Report forms, diagrams , and narrative
to provide a complete, accurat e and standardized report.
Traffic reports must be submitted, complete , and in their entirety prior to the
member reporting off duty.
DGO 9.02
Rev. 09/06/23
Eff. 10/17/23
Page 2 of 7
Only the following exceptions may delay a report being turned in at the end of your
shift: 1. A crash investigation of (1) considerable complexity and (2) the member's
supervisor has full knowledge of the report's complexity.
2. The assigned investigator approves the extension needed to complete the report.
3. The investigating officer is waiting for known video of the c rash.
All felony arrests documented in a traffic report (Hit & Run, DUI, etc.) shall be submitted before the member signs off duty and, in no case, beyond 24 hours from the time of assignment.
In cases where delays are expected for any reason, the member preparing the report shall submit a completed face page (CHP 555 -1) with all involved party information
and a brief synopsis of the c rash to the Platoon Commander and explain the reason
for the delay. The Platoon Commander will maintain this face page until the report is
signed off only as reference for any interested party information requests. All completed traffic report s shall be forwarded to Crime Information Services Unit
(CISU ).
9.02.03 PROCEDURES
The f irst unit(s ) on scene of any c rash has an obligation to render first aid if ne cessary ,
and when safe to do so, to any injured parties and summon additional medical resources
as needed . Members will treat all c rashes as potential crime scenes.
A. Injury
1. Report - When investigating c rashes involving injuries, always complete the
entire Traffic C rash Report, including a diagram of the c rash scene.
2. Notification - If death or serious injury results, immediately notify the
Traffic Collision Investigation Unit during business hours or the Department
Operations Center at all other times (see DGO 8.01 , Major and Critical
Incident Evaluation and Notification). Record the name and the star number of the person notified along with the time on the Traffic Report.
3. Victim Identification - Refer all requests for victim identification, by
persons or the media, to the Depa rtment Operations Center, the Traffic
Collision Investigation Unit, or the Medical Examiner's Office, if applicable (see DGO 8.09, Media Relations ).
4. Vehicle Holds - See DGO 9.06, Vehicle Tows .
DGO 9.02
Rev. 09/06/23
Eff. 10/ 17/23
Page 3 of 7
B. Bicycle
A bicycle rider is an involved party in a traffic c rash if the c rash occurs on a street,
roadway , or highway ( includes sidewalks ). Members shall consider the following when
investigating injury and non- injury traffic crashes involving bicyclists alone and/or with
vehicles :
1. When any involved party is injured as the result of a traffic c rash, members shall
complete a traffic report. A complaint of pain by any involved party is sufficient
to establish injury for traffic c rash reporting purposes.
2. Medical attention by an ambulance crew or transportation to a medical facility shall not be used as a requirement for taking a crash report. The following are
examples of traffic crashes requiring a traffic report:
a. Crashes involving a bicycle on a street, roadway, or highway involving a
pedestrian, skateboarder , road hazards, another bicycle , and any object,
including a parked vehicle.
b. Crashes involving the opening of a vehicle door in the immediate path of an
approaching cyclist