PART 1. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
CHAPTER 25. TRAFFIC OPERATIONS
SUBCHAPTER O. CRASH RECORDS INFORMATION SYSTEM
The Texas Department of Transportation (department) proposes amendments to §25.977, concerning reporting of motor vehicle crashes by investigating officers.
EXPLANATION OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
Law enforcement officers who investigate motor vehicle crashes are required by Transportation Code, §550.062 to submit a crash report to the department within 10 days of the accident on a form prescribed by the department if the crash resulted in injury to or death of a person or $1,000 or more of property damage. The form used for the report is referred to as the Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report, or more commonly as the CR-3.
Under the revisions to §25.977, Reporting by Investigating Officers, the Texas Transportation Commission (commission) adopts Form CR-3 by reference. The revisions remove the reference to the supplemental commercial motor vehicle report. The information needed for a commercial motor vehicle accident report is now included on Form CR-3 and therefore, a separate, supplemental report is unnecessary.
The department became the office of record for state crash data in October of 2007 when this function was transferred to the department from the Texas Department of Public Safety in accordance with Transportation Code, Chapter 550. The Department of Public Safety had adopted rule 37 TAC §3.9 regarding crash reporting, which adopted Form CR-3 by reference. This rule, along with the other rules regarding the state crash data program, was transferred to the department in October 2007 when the crash records function became part of the department. The Department of Public Safety is currently in the process of repealing 37 TAC §3.9.
Amendments to §25.977(c) return the rule to the earlier format of 37 TAC §3.9 by adopting the CR-3 form by reference. This change adheres to the previous rule adopted by the Texas Department of Public Safety and requires the department to propose and adopt changes to the form through the administrative rulemaking process.
Form CR-3 provides for the collection of specific information about a motor vehicle crash, information about the vehicles involved in the crash, and information about the people who were involved in the crash. The form includes various items such as, the date of the crash; location of the crash; type of highway where the crash occurred; whether the crash occurred on public or private property; driver and passenger names; injury severity; factors that contributed to the crash; commercial vehicle information such as, vehicle type, configuration, and carrier name; driver's license information; vehicle information, including the model, make, year, and vehicle identification number; citation information; emergency response information; and information about safety belt usage. The information collected is necessary to utilize the report for its intended purpose of meeting state and federal reporting requirements and identifying safety issues.
In 2007, the department and the Texas Department of Public Safety received a request from the Texas Department of Insurance and the Texas insurance industry to remove driver's telephone numbers from Form CR-3 because insurance fraud was being perpetrated on crash victims who were being contacted at the telephone numbers listed on the form. The Department of Public Safety consulted with various law enforcement agencies concerning the removal of the driver's telephone number from
Form CR-3. Since neither the department nor law enforcement agencies were able to identify a business need for a driver's telephone number or any other telephone number, the form, as proposed for adoption, does not include driver's telephone numbers as neither the department nor law enforcement agencies have a business need for this information.
Amendments to §25.977(e) strike the requirement of a supplemental commercial motor vehicle report. Form CR-3 now includes the necessary commercial motor vehicle information; therefore, there is no need for a supplemental form. This change will benefit law enforcement by eliminating the completion of a second form.
The form may be completed by a law enforcement agency in one of three ways: printing out the form and completing it manually; completing the electronic version of the form on a computer; or entering and submitting the data via a web based data entry system. The information requested and submitted by a law enforcement officer remains the same regardless of the method used to complete the form.
The Form CR-3 proposed for adoption is available on the department web site at the following location: www.txdot.gov.
FISCAL NOTE
James Bass, Chief Financial Officer, has determined that for each of the first five years the amendments as proposed are in effect, there will be no fiscal implications for state or local governments as a result of enforcing or administering the amendments.
Carlos Lopez, P.E., Director, Traffic Operations Division, has certified that there will be no significant impact on local economies or overall employment as a result of enforcing or administering the amendments.
PUBLIC BENEFIT AND COST
Mr. Lopez has also determined that for each year of the first five years the sections are in effect, the public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing or administering the amendments will be more efficient reporting of crash data to the state and more accurate crash data. There are no anticipated economic costs for persons required to comply with the sections as proposed. There will be no adverse economic effect on small businesses.
SUBMITTAL OF COMMENTS
Written comments on the proposed amendments to §25.977, as well as proposed revisions to the CR-3 form, may be submitted to Carlos Lopez, P.E., Director, Traffic Operations Division, Texas Department of Transportation, 125 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701-2483. The deadline for receipt of comments is 5:00 p.m. on July 13, 2009.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The amendments are proposed under Transportation Code, §201.101, which provides the commission with the authority to establish rules for the conduct of the work of the department, and more specifically Transportation Code, §550.064, which authorizes the department to prescribe the form of motor vehicle crash reports.
CROSS REFERENCE TO STATUTE
Transportation Code, Chapter 550.
§25.977.Reporting by Investigating Officers.
(a) A law enforcement officer who investigates a motor vehicle crash shall submit a crash record report within 10 days of the accident on a form prescribed by the department if the crash resulted in:
(1) injury to or death of a person;
(2) $1000 or more of property damage to the property of any one person.
(b) The crash record report form must include:
(1) information about the crash;
(2) information about all vehicles involved in the crash;
(3) information about each person involved in the crash; and
(4) other factors necessary for the department to comply with state and federal reporting requirements.
(c) The department has developed Form CR-3, Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report, to satisfy the requirements of subsection (b) of this section. The commission adopts Form CR-3 by reference. The form is available through the department's website at www.txdot.gov.
(d) Incomplete or inaccurate crash reports, with the exception of location information as described in §25.974(b) of this subchapter, will be returned to the originating law enforcement agency for correction.
[(e) An officer investigating a crash
involving a commercial motor vehicle also shall submit a commercial
motor vehicle enforcement supplemental report on a form prescribed
by the department.]
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on May 29, 2009.
TRD-200902080
Bob Jackson
General Counsel
Texas Department of Transportation
Earliest possible date of adoption: July 12, 2009
For further information, please call: (512) 463-8683