Senate Bill No. 654
(By Senator Minard)
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[Introduced March 21, 2005; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §17C-4-9 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to accident report forms; and
providing that a completed accident report form is conclusive
upon the issue as to causation unless a court of competent
jurisdiction rules otherwise after review.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17C-4-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. ACCIDENTS.
§17C-4-9. Accident report forms.
(a) The Division shall prepare and upon request supply to
police departments, coroners, sheriffs, Division of Natural
Resources and other suitable agencies or individuals, forms for
accident reports required hereunder, appropriate with respect to
the persons required to make such reports and the purposes to be served. The written reports to be made by investigating officers
shall call for sufficiently detailed information to disclose with
reference to a traffic accident the cause, conditions then
existing, and the persons and vehicles involved.
(b) Every accident report required to be made in writing shall
be made on the appropriate form approved by the Division and shall
contain all of the information required therein unless not
available.
(c) Every such report shall also contain information
sufficient to enable the Commissioner to determine whether the
requirements for security upon motor vehicles is in effect in
accordance with chapter seventeen-d of this code.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, a completed accident report form is conclusive as to the
issue of the accident's cause, unless a court of competent
jurisdiction rules otherwise after review.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that accident
report forms are conclusive as to the issue of the accident's
cause, unless a court rules otherwise.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.