(1) In this section, "reportable" refers to
an accident in which the minimum damage requirements of s.
346.70, Stats., are met or
exceeded, and for which reporting the accident is mandatory under that section,
or an accident to which the safety responsibility law applies under s.
344.12, Stats.
Note: Section
346.66, Stats., makes the
accident reporting requirements of s.
346.70, Stats., applicable only
as follows:
346.66 Applicability of sections relating to accidents and
accident reporting. In addition to being applicable upon highways, ss.
346.67 to
346.70 are applicable upon all
premises held out to the public for use of their motor vehicles, all premises
provided by employers to employees for the use of their motor vehicles and all
premises provided to tenants of rental housing in buildings of 4 or more units
for the use of their motor vehicles, whether such premises are publicly or
privately owned and whether or not a fee is charged for the use thereof. These
sections do not apply to private parking areas at farms or single-family
residences or to accidents involving only snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles or
vehicles propelled by human power or drawn by animals.
Section
344.12, Stats., makes the safety
responsibility law apply as follows:
344.12 Applicability of provisions relating to deposit of
security for past accidents. Subject to the exceptions contained in s.
344.14, the provisions of this
chapter requiring deposit of security and requiring suspension for failure to
deposit security apply to the operator and owner of every motor vehicle which
is in any manner involved in an accident in this state which has resulted in
bodily injury to or death of any person or damage to property of any other
person of $1,000 or more.
(1m) A law enforcement agency investigating a
reportable accident involving a vehicle shall report the accident to the
department as required under s.
346.70(4),
Stats. If a law enforcement agency does not investigate and report the accident
within 10 days after the accident, the operators of the vehicles involved in
the accident shall report the accident to the department as required under s.
346.70(2),
Stats. The department may accept or require a report of the accident to be
filed by the occupant or the owner in lieu of a report by the operator.
Note: Forms MV 4000 Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Accident Report and
MV 4002 Driver Report of Accident.
(2) Persons misidentified as an operator in a
law enforcement report may file a written report with the department regarding
that fact. Upon receipt of such a report, the department shall require the
person claiming to have been misidentified to do either of the following:
(a) Have the agency that filed the report
file an amended law enforcement agency report with the department.
(b) Provide the department with a copy of
court findings meeting any of the following criteria:
1. From any type of proceeding that
identifies the true operator of the vehicle at the time of the
accident.
2. From a criminal,
traffic forfeiture or civil proceeding that concludes the person was not a
vehicle operator involved in the accident.
3. From a civil court proceeding related to
establishing liability issues related to the accident that the court cannot
determine whether the person was the operator of a vehicle involved in the
accident.
(2m) If a person filing a report under sub.
(2) does not meet one of the requirements of sub. (2) (a) or (b), the
department shall accept the identification of the operator in the original
police report as correct. If all operators involved in an accident that was
reported by a person other than a police agency and all owners of vehicles
involved in that accident stipulate that a person was misidentified in an
accident report and identify another person as the actual operator, the
department may accept the newly identified person as the actual operator of the
vehicle and release the misidentified person from further responsibility under
this chapter. In all other cases involving the identification of an operator in
an accident report, the department shall make a determination of the accuracy
of the identification of the operator based on the credibility of the evidence
submitted at hearing.
(3) The
department shall assume that all accident reports it receives from enforcement
agencies or operators meet the reporting criteria of s.
346.70(1),
Stats., or the minimum requirements for safety responsibility act under s.
343.12, Stats. An accident
report filed by a police agency for an accident that is not reportable shall be
returned to the reporting agency. A report from another source for an accident
that is not reportable shall be discarded. If the department determines from
credible evidence received, which could include property damage estimates or
signed statements, that an accident that has been abstracted as part of a
driver's record is not reportable, the accident will not be included in a
public abstract of the driver's driver record maintained under s.
343.23, Stats.
Note: On the current Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Accident Report
form, MV4000, reporters indicate whether they believe an accident is reportable
by so indicating in Box 1 of the form.
(4) The department may not suspend a person's
operating privilege or motor vehicle registration for failure to file an
accident report, under s.
344.08, Stats., if no further
information is needed from the person who failed to file the
report.
Notes
Wis. Admin. Code
Department of Transportation
Trans 100.03
Cr. Register, October,
1985, No. 358, eff. 11-1-85; r. and recr. (1) and (3), am. (2), Register,
April, 1994, No. 460, eff. 5-1-94; CR 01-156: renum. (1) to be (1m) and am.,
(4) renum. from Trans 100.14(1) and am., cr. (1) and (2m), r. and recr. (2),
am. (3) Register October 2005 No. 598, eff.
11-1-05.
