You should know how to read an accident report to understand what happened in your accident fully. It all starts with familiarity with the report’s scope. Discuss your case with car accident lawyer Macon.
The Georgia Uniform Traffic Crash Report Fields
According to documents given by the Accreditation Council for Traffic Accident Reconstruction (ACTAR), the following are included in Georgia’s accident reports (ordered from most important to least):
Upper Part
The initial portion of the Georgia accident report will focus on:
- The official accident report number used by authorities for tracking and documentation (this number is significant)
- The agency number identifies the exact law enforcement agency that submitted the report.
- Location (with county and city) of the incident
- When it happened, what day of the week it was, and what time of day it was
- This is the initial responding police officer.
- the total number of cars, casualties, and injuries
- Precise coordinates of the accident site
Although there is a lot of data here, if you read your report, attentively you should be able to pick out each individual piece.
Area Around the Snail’s Back
The report’s central part features two huge boxes placed side by side. Specifics are provided below:
Information about the driver’s licenses of all vehicles involved (additional paperwork may be necessary for accidents involving more than two drivers)
- Driver and vehicle details
- Details on each driver’s license plate
- Any reports of suspected intoxication or drug use by drivers
- Each driver’s health status
Your lawyer may find all this material to be beneficial.
Part At The Bottom
Below the fold of the initial page of the accident report is information regarding:
- Destination hospitals for injured
- Who took pictures of the injuries when paramedics arrived?
- The Identities of Potential Witnesses
For legal proceedings and insurance claims, witness testimony is of paramount importance.
A Second Page
The officer’s written comments about the accident can be found on page 2 of the Georgia Uniform Motor Vehicle Accident Report. Using their own words, they may describe what happened to you.
In addition, the police officer can sketch a diagram of the incident if necessary. This may reveal the order in which vehicles arrived at the location.
On the second page of the accident report, you’ll find additional details such as:
- All and all citations in print about the crash
- The road’s state at the time of the crash
- Causes of the accident, including the weather
- Provide the names of everyone in the car
In light of this information, you should be better equipped to interpret your own accident report.
