Connecticut General Statutes 14-108a – Uniform investigation of accident report. Requirements and policy for identifying and notifying person’s family or household member of motor vehicle accident in which person was killed
(a)(1) The Commissioner of Transportation shall prescribe for the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and for each police department and officer and other suitable agencies or individuals a uniform investigation of accident report, in such form as the commissioner shall prescribe, which form shall be followed in filing all such reports.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 14-108a
- Commissioner: includes the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles and any assistant to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles who is designated and authorized by, and who is acting for, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles under a designation. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Fatality: means the death of a person as a result of a motor vehicle accident. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Motor vehicle: means any vehicle propelled or drawn by any nonmuscular power, except aircraft, motor boats, road rollers, baggage trucks used about railroad stations or other mass transit facilities, electric battery-operated wheel chairs when operated by persons with physical disabilities at speeds not exceeding fifteen miles per hour, golf carts operated on highways solely for the purpose of crossing from one part of the golf course to another, golf-cart-type vehicles operated on roads or highways on the grounds of state institutions by state employees, agricultural tractors, farm implements, such vehicles as run only on rails or tracks, self-propelled snow plows, snow blowers and lawn mowers, when used for the purposes for which they were designed and operated at speeds not exceeding four miles per hour, whether or not the operator rides on or walks behind such equipment, motor-driven cycles, as defined in §. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Officer: includes any constable, state marshal, inspector of motor vehicles, state policeman or other official authorized to make arrests or to serve process, provided the officer is in uniform or displays the officer's badge of office in a conspicuous place when making an arrest. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Operator: means any person who operates a motor vehicle or who steers or directs the course of a motor vehicle being towed by another motor vehicle and includes a driver. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, limited liability company, association, copartnership, company, firm, business trust or other aggregation of individuals but does not include the state or any political subdivision thereof, unless the context clearly states or requires. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- School bus: means any school bus, as defined in §. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- State: means any state of the United States and the District of Columbia unless the context indicates a more specific reference to the state of Connecticut. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
- Vehicle: includes any device suitable for the conveyance, drawing or other transportation of persons or property, whether operated on wheels, runners, a cushion of air or by any other means. See Connecticut General Statutes 14-1
(2) In each motor vehicle accident in which any person is killed or injured or in which damage to the property of any one individual, including the operator, in excess of one thousand dollars is sustained, the police officer, agency or individual who, in the regular course of duty, investigates such accident, either at the time of or at the scene of the accident or thereafter, by interviewing the participants or witnesses, shall, not later than five days after completing such investigation, complete and forward one copy of such report to the Commissioner of Transportation. Such report shall contain all available information relating to the location and cause of the accident, the conditions then existing, the persons and vehicles involved and the names of the insurance companies issuing their automobile liability policies, as well as the enforcement action taken, if any, and, in the case of a motor vehicle accident in which any person is killed, such report shall, if possible and practicable, reach a conclusion as to the cause of the accident. If such a conclusion cannot be reached, the investigating officer, agency or individual shall refer the case to the state’s attorney for the judicial district in which the accident occurred, who may refer the case to the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection for review and further investigation. The Commissioner of Transportation shall forward to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles one copy of each report of any accident involving a school bus. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles may inquire into or investigate any accident reported pursuant to this subsection and may request the assistance of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection for such purposes.
(b) (1) In each motor vehicle accident in which any person is killed, the police officer, agency or individual who, in the regular course of duty, investigates such accident shall use reasonable efforts to identify and notify a member of the person’s family or household of the fatality as soon as practicable after the accident. Such notification shall (A) indicate that the person was killed in a motor vehicle accident, the location of the accident and the location of the person’s body, and (B) on and after the date the applicable police department, agency or individual adopts a policy under subdivision (3) of this subsection, be made in accordance with such policy.
(2) Not later than October 1, 2008, the Police Officer Standards and Training Council established under § 7-294b shall establish a uniform policy for identifying and notifying a member of a person’s family or household with respect to any motor vehicle accident in which a person is killed. The council shall make the uniform policy available to each police department, agency or individual required to adopt a policy pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection. The council shall design the uniform policy to ensure that such notification is made promptly in a manner appropriate for the identified member of the person’s family or household.
(3) Not later than January 1, 2009, each police department, agency or individual that, in the regular course of duty, has responsibility for investigating motor vehicle accidents shall consider the provisions of the uniform policy established by the Police Officer Standards and Training Council pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection and adopt a policy for identifying and notifying a member of a person’s family or household with respect to any motor vehicle accident in which a person is killed. Each such police department, agency or individual shall design its policy to ensure that such notification is made promptly in a manner appropriate for the identified member of the person’s family or household.
(4) Policies established or adopted pursuant to this subsection shall not be considered regulations under § 4-166.
(5) For the purposes of this subsection, “police department” includes, but is not limited to, the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.