Florida Statutes 316.066 – Written reports of crashes
Current as of: 2024 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
(1)(a) A Florida Traffic Crash Report, Long Form must be completed and submitted to the department within 10 days after an investigation is completed by the law enforcement officer who in the regular course of duty investigates a motor vehicle crash that:
1. Resulted in death of, personal injury to, or any indication of complaints of pain or discomfort by any of the parties or passengers involved in the crash;
3. Rendered a vehicle inoperable to a degree that required a wrecker to remove it from the scene of the crash; or
4. Involved a commercial motor vehicle.
Attorney's Note
Under the Florida Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Felony of the third degree | up to 5 years | up to $5,000 |
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 316.066
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Person: means any individual, firm, company, agency, organization, partnership, corporation, association, trust, or other business entity of any kind whatsoever. See Florida Statutes 316.193
- Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
- Testify: Answer questions in court.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(b) The Florida Traffic Crash Report, Long Form must include:
1. The date, time, and location of the crash.
2. A description of the vehicles involved.
3. The names and addresses of the parties involved, including all drivers and passengers, and the identification of the vehicle in which each was a driver or a passenger.
4. The names and addresses of witnesses.
5. The name, badge number, and law enforcement agency of the officer investigating the crash.
6. The names of the insurance companies for the respective parties involved in the crash.
(c) In any crash for which a Florida Traffic Crash Report, Long Form is not required by this section and which occurs on the public roadways of this state, the law enforcement officer shall complete a short-form crash report or provide a driver exchange-of-information form, to be completed by all drivers and passengers involved in the crash, which requires the identification of each vehicle that the drivers and passengers were in. The short-form report must include:
1. The date, time, and location of the crash.
2. A description of the vehicles involved.
3. The names and addresses of the parties involved, including all drivers and passengers, and the identification of the vehicle in which each was a driver or a passenger.
4. The names and addresses of witnesses.
5. The name, badge number, and law enforcement agency of the officer investigating the crash.
6. The names of the insurance companies for the respective parties involved in the crash.
(d) Each party to the crash must provide the law enforcement officer with proof of insurance, which must be documented in the crash report. If a law enforcement officer submits a report on the crash, proof of insurance must be provided to the officer by each party involved in the crash. Any party who fails to provide the required information commits a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318, unless the officer determines that due to injuries or other special circumstances such insurance information cannot be provided immediately. If the person provides the law enforcement agency, within 24 hours after the crash, proof of insurance that was valid at the time of the crash, the law enforcement agency may void the citation.
(e) The driver of a vehicle that was in any manner involved in a crash resulting in damage to a vehicle or other property which does not require a law enforcement report shall, within 10 days after the crash, submit a written report of the crash to the department. The report shall be submitted on a form approved by the department.
(f) Long-form and short-form crash reports prepared by law enforcement must be submitted to the department and may be maintained by the law enforcement officer’s agency.
(2)(a) Crash reports that reveal the identity, home or employment telephone number or home or employment address of, or other personal information concerning the parties involved in the crash and that are held by an agency, as defined in s. 119.011, are confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and Fla. Const. Art. I, § 24(a) for a period of 60 days after the date the report is filed.
(b) Crash reports held by an agency under paragraph (a) may be made immediately available to the parties involved in the crash, their legal representatives, their licensed insurance agents, their insurers or insurers to which they have applied for coverage, persons under contract with such insurers to provide claims or underwriting information, law enforcement agencies and their contracted service providers, victim services programs, and any federal, state, or local governmental agency or any private person or entity acting on behalf of a federal, state, or local governmental agency in carrying out its functions, but not for redistribution to any person or entity not listed in this subsection. Crash reports held by an agency under paragraph (a) which do not contain the home or employment street addresses, driver license or identification card numbers, dates of birth, and home and employment telephone numbers of the parties involved in the crash shall be made immediately available to radio and television stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and newspapers qualified to publish legal notices under ss. 50.011 and 50.031. A crash report may also be made available to any third party acting on behalf of a person or entity authorized under this section to access the crash report, except that the third party may disclose the crash report only to the person or entity authorized to access the crash report under this section on whose behalf the third party has sought the report. This section shall not prevent an agency, pursuant to a memorandum of understanding, from providing data derived from crash reports to a third party solely for the purpose of identifying vehicles involved in crashes if such data does not reveal the identity, home or employment telephone number or home or employment address, or other personal information of the parties involved in the crash.
(c) Any local, state, or federal agency that is authorized to have access to crash reports by any provision of law shall be granted such access in the furtherance of the agency’s statutory duties.
(d) As a condition precedent to accessing a crash report, a person must present a valid driver license or other photographic identification, proof of status, or identification that demonstrates his or her qualifications to access that information and file a written sworn statement with the state or local agency in possession of the information stating that information from a crash report made confidential and exempt by this section will not be used for any commercial solicitation of accident victims or knowingly disclosed to any third party for the purpose of such solicitation. Such written sworn statement must be completed and sworn to by the requesting party for each individual crash report that is being requested. In lieu of requiring the written sworn statement, an agency may provide crash reports by electronic means pursuant to a memorandum of understanding to third-party vendors under contract with one or more insurers, but only when such contract states that information from a crash report made confidential and exempt by this section will not be used for any commercial solicitation of accident victims by the vendors, or knowingly disclosed by the vendors to any third party for the purpose of such solicitation, and only when a copy of such contract is furnished to the agency as proof of the vendor’s claimed status.
(e) This subsection does not prevent the dissemination or publication of news to the general public by any legitimate media entitled to access confidential and exempt information pursuant to this section.
(f) Crash reports held by an agency under paragraph (a) may be made available 60 days after the date the report is filed to any person or entity eligible to access crash reports under paragraph (b) or in accordance with any of the permissible uses listed in 18 U.S.C. § 2721(b) and pursuant to the resale and redisclosure requirements in 18 U.S.C. § 2721(c).
(g) If crash reports are created by or submitted to an agency electronically as data elements within a computerized database or if personal information from a crash report is entered into a computerized database, such crash data held by an agency is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and Fla. Const. Art. I, § 24(a). Sixty days after the date the crash report is filed, an agency may provide crash data derived from the crash report which includes personal information to entities eligible to access the crash report under paragraph (b), or in accordance with any of the permissible uses listed in 18 U.S.C. § 2721(b) and pursuant to the resale and redisclosure requirements in 18 U.S.C. § 2721(c). Such data shall be provided pursuant to a memorandum of understanding.
(h) This subsection is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2027, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.
(3)(a) Any driver failing to file the written report required under subsection (1) commits a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318.
(b) Any employee of a state or local agency in possession of information made confidential and exempt by this section who knowingly discloses such confidential and exempt information to a person not entitled to access such information under this section commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(c) Any person, knowing that he or she is not entitled to obtain information made confidential and exempt by this section, who obtains or attempts to obtain such information commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(d) Any person who knowingly uses confidential and exempt information in violation of a filed written sworn statement, memorandum of understanding, or contractual agreement required by this section commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(e) In addition to penalties outlined in paragraphs (c) and (d), a person who obtains a crash report or crash data and who knowingly discloses or knowingly uses personal information revealed in the report for a purpose not permitted under 18 U.S.C. § 2721(b) is liable to the individual to whom the information pertains, who may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction. The court may award:
1. Actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages in the amount of $2,500.
2. Punitive damages upon proof of willful or reckless disregard of the law.
3. Reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred.
4. Such other preliminary and equitable relief as the court determines to be appropriate.
This paragraph does not apply to radio and television stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and newspapers qualified to publish legal notices under ss. 50.011 and 50.031.
(4) Except as specified in this subsection, each crash report made by a person involved in a crash and any statement made by such person to a law enforcement officer for the purpose of completing a crash report required by this section shall be without prejudice to the individual so reporting. Such report or statement may not be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal. However, subject to the applicable rules of evidence, a law enforcement officer at a criminal trial may testify as to any statement made to the officer by the person involved in the crash if that person’s privilege against self-incrimination is not violated. The results of breath, urine, and blood tests administered as provided in s. 316.1932 or s. 316.1933 are not confidential and are admissible into evidence in accordance with the provisions of s. 316.1934(2).
(5) A law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(1), may enforce this section.