Florida Senate - 2018 SB 1782
By Senator Steube
23-01225A-18 20181782__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to traffic accidents; amending s.
3 316.066, F.S.; authorizing a law enforcement agency to
4 contract with a private entity to send a licensed,
5 state-authorized claims adjuster to complete a short
6 form crash report or provide a driver exchange-of
7 information form, in lieu of having a law enforcement
8 officer investigate the crash; requiring the claims
9 adjuster to submit the short-form crash report or
10 driver exchange-of-information form to the Department
11 of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the law
12 enforcement agency; revising requirements for the
13 short-form crash report; conforming provisions to
14 changes made by the act; amending ss. 316.068,
15 324.051, and 456.072, F.S.; conforming provisions to
16 changes made by the act; providing an effective date.
17
18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20 Section 1. Paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) of subsection (1)
21 and subsection (4) of section 316.066, Florida Statutes, are
22 amended to read:
23 316.066 Written reports of crashes.—
24 (1)
25 (c)1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2., in any crash
26 for which a Florida Traffic Crash Report, Long Form is not
27 required by this section and which occurs on the public roadways
28 of this state, the law enforcement officer who in the regular
29 course of duty responds to a motor vehicle crash shall complete
30 a short-form crash report or provide a driver exchange-of
31 information form, to be completed by all drivers and passengers
32 involved in the crash, which requires the identification of each
33 vehicle that the drivers and passengers were in.
34 2. A law enforcement agency may contract with a private
35 entity to send a licensed, state-authorized claims adjuster to
36 complete the short-form crash report or provide the driver
37 exchange-of-information form. The claims adjuster shall submit
38 the short-form crash report or driver exchange-of-information
39 form to the department and the law enforcement agency upon its
40 completion.
41 3. The short-form report under this paragraph must include:
42 a.1. The date, time, and location of the crash.
43 b.2. A description of the vehicles involved.
44 c.3. The names and addresses of the parties involved,
45 including all drivers and passengers, and the identification of
46 the vehicle in which each was a driver or a passenger.
47 d.4. The names and addresses of witnesses.
48 e.5. If a law enforcement officer investigates the crash,
49 the name, badge number, and law enforcement agency of the
50 officer investigating the crash.
51 f. If a claims adjuster investigates the crash, the name of
52 the claims adjuster, proof of certification or licensure of the
53 claims adjuster, and the name of the private entity that holds
54 the contract with the law enforcement agency and that employs or
55 contracts with the claims adjuster.
56 g.6. The names of the insurance companies for the
57 respective parties involved in the crash.
58 (d) Each party to the crash must provide the law
59 enforcement officer or claims adjuster with proof of insurance,
60 which must be documented in the crash report. If a law
61 enforcement officer or claims adjuster submits a report on the
62 crash, proof of insurance must be provided to the officer or
63 claims adjuster by each party involved in the crash. Any party
64 who fails to provide the required information commits a
65 noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving
66 violation as provided in chapter 318, unless the officer or
67 claims adjuster determines that due to injuries or other special
68 circumstances such insurance information cannot be provided
69 immediately. If the person provides the law enforcement agency,
70 within 24 hours after the crash, proof of insurance that was
71 valid at the time of the crash, the law enforcement agency may
72 void the citation.
73 (e) The driver of a vehicle that was in any manner involved
74 in a crash resulting in damage to a vehicle or other property
75 which does not require a law enforcement or claims adjuster
76 report shall, within 10 days after the crash, submit a written
77 report of the crash to the department. The report shall be
78 submitted on a form approved by the department.
79 (4) Except as specified in this subsection, each crash
80 report made by a person involved in a crash and any statement
81 made by such person to a law enforcement officer or claims
82 adjuster for the purpose of completing a crash report required
83 by this section is shall be without prejudice to the individual
84 so reporting. Such report or statement may not be used as
85 evidence in any trial, civil or criminal trial. However, subject
86 to the applicable rules of evidence, a law enforcement officer
87 or claims adjuster at a criminal trial may testify at a criminal
88 trial as to any statement made to the officer or claims adjuster
89 by the person involved in the crash if that person’s privilege
90 against self-incrimination is not violated. The results of
91 breath, urine, and blood tests administered as provided in s.
92 316.1932 or s. 316.1933 are not confidential and are admissible
93 into evidence in accordance with the provisions of s.
94 316.1934(2).
95 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 316.068, Florida
96 Statutes, is amended to read:
97 316.068 Crash report forms.—
98 (2) Every crash report required to be made in writing must
99 be made on the appropriate form approved by the department and
100 must contain all the information required therein, including:
101 (a) The date, time, and location of the crash;
102 (b) A description of the vehicles involved;
103 (c) The names and addresses of the parties involved;
104 (d) The names and addresses of all drivers and passengers
105 in the vehicles involved;
106 (e) The names and addresses of witnesses;
107 (f) If a law enforcement officer investigates the crash,
108 the name, badge number, and law enforcement agency of the
109 officer investigating the crash;
110 (g) If a claims adjuster investigates the crash, the name
111 of the claims adjuster, proof of certification or licensure of
112 the claims adjuster, and the name of the private entity that
113 holds the contract with the law enforcement agency and that
114 employs or contracts with the claims adjuster; and
115 (h)(g) The names of the insurance companies for the
116 respective parties involved in the crash,
117
118 unless not available. The absence of information in such written
119 crash reports regarding the existence of passengers in the
120 vehicles involved in the crash constitutes a rebuttable
121 presumption that no such passengers were involved in the
122 reported crash. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
123 section, a crash report produced electronically by a law
124 enforcement officer or claims adjuster must, at a minimum,
125 contain the same information as is called for on those forms
126 approved by the department.
127 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
128 324.051, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
129 324.051 Reports of crashes; suspensions of licenses and
130 registrations.—
131 (1)(a) Every law enforcement officer or claims adjuster
132 who, in the regular course of duty either at the time of and at
133 the scene of the crash or thereafter by interviewing
134 participants or witnesses, investigates a motor vehicle crash
135 which he or she is required to report pursuant to s. 316.066(1)
136 shall forward a written report of the crash to the department
137 within 10 days after of completing the investigation. However,
138 when the investigation of a crash will take more than 10 days to
139 complete, a preliminary copy of the crash report shall be
140 forwarded to the department within 10 days after the occurrence
141 of the crash, to be followed by a final report within 10 days
142 after completion of the investigation. The report shall be on a
143 form and contain information consistent with the requirements of
144 s. 316.068.
145 Section 4. Paragraph (y) of subsection (1) of section
146 456.072, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
147 456.072 Grounds for discipline; penalties; enforcement.—
148 (1) The following acts shall constitute grounds for which
149 the disciplinary actions specified in subsection (2) may be
150 taken:
151 (y) Using information about people involved in motor
152 vehicle accidents which has been derived from accident reports
153 made by law enforcement officers, claims adjusters, or persons
154 involved in accidents under s. 316.066, or using information
155 published in a newspaper or other news publication or through a
156 radio or television broadcast that has used information gained
157 from such reports, for the purposes of commercial or any other
158 solicitation whatsoever of the people involved in the accidents.
159 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.