Under Texas Transportation Code §550.062, a police officer who investigates a crash involving injury to or the death of a person or damage to the property of any one person to the apparent extent of $1,000 or more is required to submit a written report of the accident to TxDOT not later than the tenth day after the date of the crash. But sometimes the reports are tied up for weeks or even months. Why does this happen?
After most car crashes in Texas, you can typically get a copy of your police report within the first 10 days. In many cases, the officer will let you know when it is ready if you simply ask him to. However, sometimes the investigations drag on for weeks or even months. Getting a police report after a car accident is often critical to getting your car repaired and your life put back together. However, certain factors can prolong the process of getting a police report. This article will explore the various reasons why your police report may take longer than the typical 8 days in Texas.
What Factors Prolong a Car Accident Investigation?
Severity of the Crash
In many accidents, the harder the impact, the harder it is to sort out the remnants. In minor impact collisions, the vehicles are typically still very close to the point of impact. It is generally easier to observe their location and determine what happened. However, in a hard-impact collision, the vehicle often moves far from the initial impact point. They may flip or roll over in a severe impact case, further complicating the investigation.
Complexity of the Crash
While a simple rear-end collision on a single-direction roadway is often not hard to figure out due to its simplicity, other crashes have more complex aspects that can cause officers to take longer and/or require more detailed investigation. Multi-vehicle accidents can be very challenging, especially when you get a multi-car pile-up on a Texas highway due to dangerous weather conditions like fog lying on the road in the morning.
Availability of Evidence
The more evidence that is available, the easier the investigation will be. However, there are different types of evidence with different values. Direct evidence is evidence that gives a first-hand account of the events. Direct evidence includes statements by the drivers, statements by eyewitnesses, and video evidence. The drivers and/or their passengers may not be reliable since the at-fault driver may lie. Thus, independent eyewitness accounts are often given greater weight in investigating an accident. Even more telling is when there is video evidence. Whether the officer obtains video from a traffic camera or a surveillance video from a private business, this evidence is the strongest type of evidence an officer can obtain. But video evidence is not often available and when it is, it may not be facing the right way to see the accident clearly.
Possibility of Criminal Charges
Anytime the law was broken as a part of the wreck, the officer must evaluate whether a ticket or even criminal charges are warranted. Whether to issue a ticket or simply note a contributing factor on the police report is discretionary. This may happen at the scene, or they may decide later and mail out any tickets they deem appropriate.
When there are serious criminal charges, this can further require a more detailed investigation since convictions require proof. If the charges are alcohol/or drug-related, then the report may have to wait for the results of a breathalyzer, blood test, or in the case of a fatality, autopsy report.
How Do I Request a Report From the State?
You can purchase your crash report online so long as you meet certain qualifications. Being a party to the crash will suffice. Your crash report can be purchased online for $6.00.
How Do I Get a Crash Report Locally?
You can sometimes get your crash report faster by not waiting until it is sent to the state. For local contacts, please see the page directory to the right with major Texas city contacts for crash reports.
Conclusion
In summary, the time it takes to get a police report is affected by many factors. The crash severity and complexity, the availability of evidence, and the possibility of criminal charges and/or a traffic ticket can all delay the typical turn-around time for an accident report to be issued.
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