60-699. Accidents; reports required of operators and owners; when; supplemental reports; reports of peace officers open to public inspection; limitation on use as evidence; violation; penalty.

(1) The operator of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injuries or death to any person or damage to the property of any one person, including such operator, to an apparent extent of more than one thousand dollars shall within ten days forward a report of such accident to the Department of Transportation. If the operator is physically incapable of making the report, the owner of the motor vehicle involved in the accident shall, within ten days from the time he or she learns of the accident, report the matter in writing to the Department of Transportation. The Department of Transportation or Department of Motor Vehicles may require operators involved in accidents to file supplemental reports of accidents upon forms furnished by it whenever the original report is insufficient in the opinion of either department. The operator or the owner of the motor vehicle shall make such other and additional reports relating to the accident as either department requires. Such records shall be retained for the period of time specified by the State Records Administrator pursuant to the Records Management Act.

(2) The report of accident required by this section shall be in two parts. Part I shall be in such form as the Department of Transportation may prescribe and shall disclose full information concerning the accident. Part II shall be in such form as the Department of Motor Vehicles may prescribe and shall disclose sufficient information to disclose whether or not the financial responsibility requirements of the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act are met through the carrying of liability insurance.

(3) Upon receipt of a report of accident, the Department of Transportation shall determine the reportability and classification of the accident and enter all information into a computerized data base. Upon completion, the Department of Transportation shall electronically send Part II of the report to the Department of Motor Vehicles for purposes of section 60-506.01.

(4) Such reports shall be without prejudice. All reports made by peace officers, made to or filed with peace officers in their respective offices or departments, or filed with or made by or to any other law enforcement agency of the state shall be open to public inspection, but accident reports filed by the operator or owner of a motor vehicle pursuant to this section shall not be open to public inspection. The fact that a report by an operator or owner has been so made shall be admissible in evidence solely to prove compliance with this section, but no such report or any part of or statement contained in the report shall be admissible in evidence for any other purpose in any trial, civil or criminal, arising out of such accidents nor shall the report be referred to in any way or be any evidence of the negligence or due care of either party at the trial of any action at law to recover damages.

(5) The failure by any person to report an accident as provided in this section or to correctly give the information required in connection with the report shall be a Class V misdemeanor.

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Cross References

Annotations

Report of accident was not admissible in evidence. Styskal v. Brickey, 158 Neb. 208, 62 N.W.2d 854 (1954).