City Council Member Chaim Deutsch Proposed Bill To Speed Up Accident Report Process
City Council Member Chaim Deutsch brought a bill to the council floor yesterday that would mandate police officers to email accident reports to motorists after a car accident, if they want it emailed to them, making the process move more quickly.
Currently, the process of getting an accident report is a tedious one. People can wait up to six weeks in some cases to coordinate with the officer to arrange a time to pick up the accident report. It is a waste of time for the officer, who could spend that time fighting crime, and the person involved in the accident, who usually has to take time off of work to take the trip to the precinct, according to Deutsch.
“Common sense is not always so common,” said Deutsch. “Most of, if not all of, the legislation I propose are common sense bills. It’s about time that accident reports are emailed to the accident victim.”
Deutsch already has widespread support for the bill among his colleagues in the City Council, including the Chair of the Public Safety Committee, Council Member Vanessa Gibson.
“People, on average, spend about 26 years sleeping and around 10 years waiting on line,” said Deutsch “This is something that will alleviate the wait time at the precinct, and the frustration that comes after getting into a car accident.”
“It would reduce people coming into the precinct to pick up the accident reports, it would reduce waiting time in the station house,” said Deutsch. “It will help officer attend to more important matter, such as helping crime victims.”
When an accident is reported to the police, a police officer must write up the report, and have it signed off by a supervisor, which could take three to four days, according to Deutsch. After it is signed off, it is available for pick-up at the precinct. The victim of the accident must then make a phone call to the precinct’s clerk, which can also be time-consuming and difficult because the clerks are busy, and sometimes hard to get a hold of, said Deutsch.
He guarantees that this bill will alleviate much of the stress that is produced from getting into a car accident when it is passed in City Council.
The next step for the bill will be for it to go to a hearing in the Public Safety Committee, which could take a couple of months, according to Deutsch’s office. If it is approved in that committee, then it will go to the City Council for a full vote.