If you are pursuing a car accident injury or wrongful death claim, you will need to know how to read a police accident report. Police accident reports are a powerful piece of evidence when pursuing a claim as they objectively assess the circumstances surrounding the car accident. So, if you are in South Carolina, one of the first things you should do in the aftermath is obtain a copy of the police accident report.
What Does a Police Accident Report Contain?
South Carolina law requires drivers to contact the police after a car accident involving injury, death, or more than $1,000 in property damage. When the police arrive, they will secure the location and offer aid to the involved parties. They should also fill out a car accident police report at the scene and submit a copy to their department within the next few days.
Police across the state use the standardized South Carolina Traffic Collision Report Form (TR-310) for car accidents. Below is a summary of the major sections of the two-page form and the information they contain.
Police Report Number
The police will write the individual report number at the top of the document, above the box on the left. The report number is a unique ID that you can use to request a copy and discuss the case with others. You can still get a copy of the report if you do not know the report number.
Accident Location Details
The next series of boxes contains basic information about the accident’s location, date, and time. This section lists the county and road where the collision occurred, lanes and locations, the cars’ direction, and whether the crash happened on an interstate, primary highway, secondary highway, or another type of road. The police may also include the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of the accident.
Driver/Pedestrian Personal Information
This section lists the names and contact information of any drivers, passengers, and pedestrians involved in the accident. These boxes also contain information about the individual parties’ driver’s license numbers, vehicle registration, vehicle details, insurance companies, and whether or not the officer believes the individual was speeding or contributed to the accident in some way.
Property Damage
This section of the police accident report briefly estimates the monetary damages to the driver’s vehicles and surrounding property. It also contains the name, address, and phone number of any relevant property owners.
Accident Description
At the bottom of the first page of the report is a section where the responding officer provides a description of what they believe happened at the accident. At the bottom left is a large blank square where the officer may draw a diagram describing the accident circumstances. The officer will also mark whether they have any photos of the accident scene. This document section is especially important as you will rely on the information to describe the accident event and determine liable parties.
Investigating Office Information
The very bottom of the first page has boxes for the responding officer’s information, including their rank, badge number, date, and specific accident code.
Injuries
The first part of the second page of the report contains information about the injuries the involved parties sustained. Specifically, this section has information on the victims’ date of birth, race, injury status, seat location, whether they wore a seatbelt, whether the airbag was deployed, and whether any victims were ejected from the vehicle. This section also records whether EMS transported the injured victims to a medical facility.
Remember that this section does not provide the definitive word on any injuries. Police are not doctors; they just record their observations at the scene. You need to see a medical professional if you get involved in a car accident so you can get formal documentation of your injuries and physical condition.
Sequence of Events
Directly below the section detailing injuries, the officer can note the sequence of events leading to the accident. The officer writes the timeline according to their understanding of the events and any eyewitness statements. This section lists how the cars collided and notes which sections of the involved vehicles sustained the most damage.
Contributing Factors
The last section of the police accident report contains information about contributing factors to the accident, such as the weather, road conditions, lighting, vehicle defects, and driver behaviors. Most importantly, the police note whether the accident involved any drugs or alcohol and whether the officer administered any field sobriety tests or breathalyzer tests. This section is important because it describes the exact causal factors contributing to the accident.
How to Get a Police Accident Report in Greenville, South Carolina
If Greenville police responded to your accident, you can request a copy of the report from their office in person or via mail. Greenville police charge a $3.00 fee per copy of the report. You can also request a copy of the report from the SCDMV online or by completing and mailing Form FR-50. The cost of requesting an accident report through the DMV is $6.00 per copy.
Do I Need to Get a Police Accident Report?
Although it is not technically mandatory, you virtually always want to include a police accident report when you file a car accident claim. Police reports are one of the first places insurance companies turn to when reconstructing an accident, and a report can show that your injuries were not your fault. It can also provide an objective record if there are disputes about your claim. If you don’t submit a police report, it could delay your claim or result in an outright claim denial.
Auto Accident Injury Attorney in Greenville
An attorney from Maxey McFarland Law can help you obtain and organize police accident reports and other documentation relevant to your personal injury claim. Contact us online or call (864) 900-4231 to schedule a free, no-obligation case consultation with a car accident attorney in Greenville, South Carolina. Check out our law firm and our recent case results to know why you should trust us.
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