Traffic Collision Reports, or Police Reports, are often taken at the scenes of auto accidents. These reports summarize information collected by the investigating law enforcement officer about the vehicles, the parties involved in the accident and any witnesses, and also provide the officer’s initial conclusion about fault. Lawyers will use these reports for preliminary information as to how an accident occurred. However, while these reports can be helpful, they have limitations.

Most people are surprised to learn that police reports are generally inadmissible as evidence at trial unless the police officer who drafted the report can recall the events of the accident. Given that trials are usually years after an accident, most police officers cannot accurately recall the accident in any detail. Also, police reports are often full of errors and are therefore considered unreliable, which also contributes to their inadmissibility at trials.

Nevertheless, these police reports are a critical tool for lawyers, as the reports set out critical information that will allow the attorney to gather more reliable and admissible evidence, such as addresses of parties, the vehicles involved in the accident, insurance company identification, accident location, and much more. But the conclusions reached by the investigating officer are not considered the last word and are often challenged. As a whole, however, police reports can be very helpful in a personal injury case.

If you are in a significant accident, we strongly recommend that you wait for law enforcement to arrive and provide the necessary information for them to prepare a report. At the very least, an officer will know what information to obtain from the parties and witnesses and will act as a go between with the other driver(s). Even personal injury attorneys who handle these matters on a regular basis can forget everything that should be done when running on adrenaline following an accident.