New accident report threshold proposed
The Transportation and Telecommunications Committee heard a bill Feb. 17 that would change the damage threshold for reporting motor vehicle accidents by law enforcement.
LB579, introduced by Gretna Sen. John Murante, would increase from $1,000 to $5,000 the estimated damage amount required for a peace officer to submit an accident report to the state Department of Roads. Accidents involving injury or death still would be investigated and reported.
Additionally, the bill would permit police departments to charge up to $15 for a copy of an accident report.
Murante said the rising cost of automotive repairs means that most motor vehicle accidents now result in damage estimates of over $1,000. He added that Nebraska last raised the damage estimate threshold from $500 in 2003.
Marty Bilek of the Omaha Mayor’s Office testified in support of the bill, saying Omaha police officers spend an average of 45 minutes per accident working on reports. Raising the damage amount threshold, he said, would mean officers would write about 4,000 fewer accident reports annually.
Giving drivers the responsibility for filing reports on accidents with low damage estimates frees officers to serve the public elsewhere, he said.
“The officers can spend their time on something more important,” Bilek said.
Lincoln Police Chief Jim Peschong also spoke in favor of the bill. He said the department used to raise more than $100,000 annually from accident report fees, which are no longer levied. Bringing back the fee would help the city offset the cost of officers’ time spent investigating and filing accident reports, he said.
Greg Coffey, representing the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys, testified in opposition to the bill. Facts about an accident, such as witness contact information, are best gathered by police as soon as possible after an incident, he said.
“This is a function of government that the average citizen can’t perform,” he said.
The committee took no immediate action on the bill.
