Policy Text
POLICY
134.0ACCIDENTS - DELAYED REPORTING
REVISED: 11/2011 RELATED POLICIES:
Reviewed by Chief David Magnusson
4/2019
A.Florida State Statutes require that in specified circumstances, the driver of a motor
vehicle, which is involved in an accident must make a written report of the accident to the
State Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The State does not mandate
the investigation of delayed motor vehicle traffic accidents by municipal law enforcement
officers. There appears to be little, if any, value in the investigation of most vehicle
accidents where vehicle and drivers have left the scene.
B.DELAYED ACCIDENTS
Definition - The term "delayed accident" is defined to be any vehicle accident in which
all parties and vehicles have left the scene prior to police response with no intent to file a
police report.
C.DELAYED ACCIDENT
Reporting - When a person telephones the Police Department to report a delayed
accident, that person will be advised that this department will not respond to the scene or
to the person's location for the purpose of taking an accident report. The person will be
advised that he/she must complete the Law Enforcement Short Form Report, Driver's
Report of Accident (Form Number HSMV-90011S) and forward it to the Department of
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. This will not be applicable in Hit and Run cases
where one party is still on the scene. It will also be inapplicable in a situation where all
parties have gone to the hospital with their vehicles. In those cases, a Department unit
will respond when the accident has occurred in the City. In all other instances, the person
will be advised that Short Forms are available at the police lobby of the EL Portal Police
Department.
D.When a person comes to the Police Department for the purpose of making a delayed
accident report, that person will be given a short form which is located on the desktop of
the station desktop computers listed as (Delayed Traffic Accident Form).
E.In any situation where Department Personnel believe that an accident report should be
made by Department Personnel, a supervisor should be notified, and a supervisory
determination requested. An example of such a situation would be one in which the
victim of a hit and run follows the culprit vehicle to obtain the tag number. In such a
case, an accident report will be done by Department Personnel.
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