Why It’s Important to Thoroughly Examine Traffic Collision Reports

Some less conscientious police officers tend to believe that once a report leaves their ink-stained fingers they don't have to think about it again unless the case goes to court, and they don't give the report the attention it deserves. They forget what happens down the line once their paperwork gets to the Records Division, and they don't really care.

What these officers fail to appreciate is that there are many people whose careers relate indirectly to law enforcement. While these people don't wear badges, their work depends a great deal on the quality (and quantity) of police reports. In no case is this involvement more evident than with traffic accidents.


The Importance of Traffic Collision Reports

The list of interested parties-not just Driver One and Driver Two- includes insurance claims adjusters, accident investigators and reconstructionists, plaintiff and defense attorneys, paralegals, body shop owners, expert witnesses, medical doctors, and chiropractors.

Some officers have an attitude that says, "Who cares? I just write the accident report. After I do the investigation, I just ship it over to Records and let them sort it out."

Part of that is true, but the ramifications of the investigation in a typical traffic collision case go far beyond just two cars involved in a crash. There are many reasons why traffic collision reports are so time-consuming and full of what seems like minute detail. Most of those reasons revolve around civil liability issues and city, state, and federal governmental record-keeping requirements.

Most cities have a traffic engineering department ranging in size from one full-time employee to several hundred. One of the main reasons this unit even exists is to document the number, location, and type of automobile accidents in the city.

Two hundred accidents per year may not be too high for a bustling, mid-size city, but if 30 percent of those accidents happen at one intersection, then the potential for expensive lawsuits becomes a real issue. Consequently, municipalities rely on their police and sheriff’s departments to document car accidents and help highlight any significant problem areas.
Similarly, each state has its own traffic accident documentation needs. Various state agencies relating to transportation safety keep track of accidents by city, county, region, and population. This affects long-range planning, state highway patrol manpower allocations, traffic safety standards, construction funding, and a host of other issues.

Lastly, all this information meanders its way through various bureaucracies until it reaches the federal level. Agencies like the Department of Transportation and the National Transportation Safety Board take a keen interest in city and state accident figures. This information is used to create accident prevention programs, federal safety guide lines for automobile manufacturers, and federal spending plans for cities, counties, and states.

Besides the impact upon transportation, safety, and planning agencies, traffic accidents usually involve injured people who call upon attorneys to settle their roadway differences. The information or lack thereof on a traffic collision report may mean the difference between a lifetime of uncompensated pain and suffering for an injured party or a huge insurance settlement for that person.

Attorneys rely on police report information as their "eyes and ears" at the scene of an accident. Sketchy, incomplete reports can hurt accident victims. Poor reports can open the municipality to liability and may even expose the officer to a civil damages claim. A thorough police report, which includes the physical evidence, the insurance information, and the witness’s names, addresses, and phone numbers, can give enough information to make all parties in the case happy.

A police officer can develop a good reputation among supervisors and prosecutors as a skilled report writer. Likewise, personal injury or criminal defense attorneys become familiar with police reports and know who writes a good one and who does not. The knowledge of who wrote the report can influence their overall approach to the case. Good reports are harder to impeach than bad ones. Unfortunately, some officers and some police agencies don't put much effort into good report writing skills. Because report writing lacks that certain glamor appeal, it often gets short shrift in terms of academy training and advanced officer in-service training.

At a typical car accident scene, even veteran officers have a tendency to let some seemingly less important information fall through the cracks as they try to get everything done. An officer working a crash alone may have to direct traffic, order tow trucks, assist the injured, and interview witnesses. It's hard to remember to do everything, especially during the stress of a car crash situation.

I recall reviewing a traffic collision report written by an El Cajon, California, police traffic officer. The nighttime accident involved a man riding a bicycle and the driver of a passenger car. The resulting crash between small bike and large car cost the rider his life.

In the ensuing investigation at the scene, the traffic officer was able to prove the bicycle rider was completely at fault. The next day, aided by the San Diego County Sheriff’s helicopter, the officer flew over the accident scene and took many aerial photos to include in his report. This thorough officer knew his job: document the scene completely and let the physical evidence tell the report reader what actually happened.

In preparing another traffic report, this same officer impounded one of the cars involved in the crash, took it to a certified traffic collision expert mechanic and had him analyze the entire car. From this careful scrutiny, the officer showed that the car did have its headlights on at the time of the crash. The mechanic's report even went so far as to measure the amount of brake fluid in the car's brake cylinder reservoir.

While some jaded traffic investigators may say that this amount of work is excessive, I say this officer should get high praise for doing his job to the utmost. His attention to detail as well as his ability to show the "big picture" has probably saved his municipality, his police department, and himself from even the hint of a lawsuit by any traffic accident participant. His devotion to duty means that, like it or not, all parties involved in these traffic crashes got a full and complete report of what happened and why.

While traffic investigation officers like this one do exist, they are sadly the exception rather than the rule.