Florida sees many car accidents each year, perhaps more than its fair share. You might see drivers race each other, endangering those around them. Others might speed or disobey traffic signals. Any of these reckless activities can easily cause a wreck.
If a driver hits your car in Florida, if you hit theirs instead, you might want to know about the accident report that the police fill out in the aftermath. Most people realize that this happens, but they don’t know many of the details surrounding these vital documents.
We’ll discuss Florida car accident reports in detail right now. We will talk about the guidelines for requesting Florida accident reports, what these reports contain, and some ways you can potentially use one as well.
The Basics
Let’s start with the basics. Every time you get in a car accident in Florida, you need to wait for the police to arrive.
sIf you drive off before talking to the cops and giving them all of your information, that’s leaving the scene of an accident, and that’s a felony. If you do that, it will infuriate the police, and they will stop at nothing to track you down.
Assuming you stay on the scene, you can call 911 on your smartphone and wait for the police to arrive. If you don’t have a cell phone on you, then maybe the other driver can call for help instead.
When the cops come, they will question both you and the other driver. If you two have conflicting stories, the police may also interview any bystanders or passengers in either car.
The police will make out a report. They have to do that at the scene or they’re not doing their jobs. They know that they must fill out this document correctly both for their sake and yours.
What Goes into These Reports?
A Florida car accident report should feature the name, license plate number, and insurance information of each driver. It should also describe in a little bit of detail what you and the other driver say happened.
The police might also add some details that they observed when they arrived. They will likely add anything that they feel should go into the report to make it more comprehensive and complete.
Those details might include the weather, skid marks the officers observe on the ground, the time of day, any obvious injuries that you or the other driver have, and so forth. The average Florida car accident report should fit on one sheet of paper. There’s a standard form, and the whole report likely won’t exceed more than a few paragraphs.
If it’s ever any more complicated than that, it’s probably because the accident involved extensive injuries, several vehicles, or anything the police considered unusual. Since car accidents happen all the time in the Sunshine State, the police will probably have filled out dozens or even hundreds of these reports before, depending on how long they’ve worked in law enforcement.
The police officers who arrive to make out the report usually patrol that area. In addition to filing out the report, they will make a note in their log for that shift.
Do You Get a Copy at the Car Accident Scene?
In most cases, you should get a copy of the accident report at the scene. You should take a moment to look at it. Presumably, you are not in a great mood right after the accident. Maybe you can feel the adrenaline rushing through your body.
However, you should attempt to take some deep breaths and to get yourself under control. You want to peruse that report to make sure the police got all of the information correct. That report might become very important later, and you don’t want to have any glaring errors or omissions on it.
What Might You Do with One of These Reports?
You should try to keep a close eye on that report. In the aftermath following the wreck, you’ll need to do things like calling a tow truck to get your vehicle. You will need to call your insurance company as well once you get a chance.
When you talk to your insurance company and you describe the accident, you can use the information on the police report. The report should have the other driver’s name, license plate number, etc. Your insurance company will want all of that information as they start investigating the crash to determine fault.
You might want that police report for another reason, though. You can potentially use that crash report if you decide that you’re going to sue the other driver.
Maybe you will do so if you determine that they exceeded the speed limit when they hit your car. Perhaps they ingested alcohol or took illegal drugs before driving instead.
If so, you and your lawyer will want to collect as much physical evidence as you can as you approach the trial date. If you can collect so much evidence that the other driver realizes they’re going to lose, they might offer you a settlement. The police accident report can become one of the central pieces of evidence that gets you the positive outcome you desire.
Now, you should understand why these reports matter so much. They feature information that will probably come in handy later, whether you decide you’re going to pursue a lawsuit against the other driver or not.
If you lose the police car accident report, that’s not ideal, but it’s also not the end of the world. In most parts of Florida, you can get another copy of the report by contacting the applicable police department. You will likely pay a nominal fee and they will mail you a copy. You might also visit the police station in person if you would prefer not to wait while they send the copy through the mail. If you’re pursuing a lawsuit, maybe you want no delays.
