2023 Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 189 - Traffic regulations -- vehicle equipment and storage 189.635 Vehicle accident reports by operators, law enforcement officers, and agencies -- Availability -- News-gathering organizations -- Contracts with outside entities to provide vehicle's accident history and electronic access to reports -- Administrative regulations -- Insurers of train engineers.
Universal Citation:
KY Rev Stat § 189.635 (2023)
Learn moreThis media-neutral citation is based
on the American Association of Law Libraries Universal Citation Guide and is not
necessarily the official citation.
Download as PDF
189.635 Vehicle accident reports by operators, law enforcement officers, and
agencies -- Availability -- News-gathering organizations -- Contracts with
outside entities to provide vehicle's accident history and electronic
access to reports -- Administrative regulations -- Insurers of train
engineers.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
The Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, Department of Kentucky State Police,
shall be responsible for maintaining a reporting system for all vehicle accidents
which occur within the Commonwealth. Such accident reports shall be utilized
for such purposes as will improve the traffic safety program in the
Commonwealth involving the collection, processing, storing, and dissemination
of such data and the establishment of procedures by administrative regulations
to ensure that uniform definitions, classifications, and other federal
requirements are in compliance.
Any person operating a vehicle on the highways of this state who is involved in
an accident resulting in fatal or nonfatal personal injury to any person or
damage to the vehicle rendering the vehicle inoperable shall be required to
immediately notify a law enforcement officer having jurisdiction. In the event
the operator fails to notify or is incapable of notifying a law enforcement officer
having jurisdiction, such responsibility shall rest with the owner of the vehicle or
any occupant of the vehicle at the time of the accident. A law enforcement
officer having jurisdiction shall investigate the accident and file a written report
of the accident with his or her law enforcement agency.
Every law enforcement agency whose officers investigate a vehicle accident of
which a report must be made as required in this chapter shall file a report of the
accident with the Department of Kentucky State Police within ten (10) days
after investigation of the accident upon forms supplied by the department.
Any person operating a vehicle on the highways of this state who is involved in
an accident resulting in any property damage exceeding five hundred dollars
($500) in which an investigation is not conducted by a law enforcement officer
shall file a written report of the accident with the Department of Kentucky State
Police within ten (10) days of occurrence of the accident upon forms provided
by the department.
(a) All accident reports filed with the Department of Kentucky State Police in
compliance with subsection (4) of this section shall not be considered
open records under KRS 61.870 to 61.884 and shall remain confidential,
except that the department may:
1.
Disclose the identity of a person involved in an accident when his or
her identity is not otherwise known or when he or she denies his or
her presence at an accident; and
2.
Make the reports available:
a.
To the persons named in paragraph (c) of this subsection; and
b.
In accordance with subsection (8) of this section.
(b) All other accident reports required by this section, and the information
contained in the reports, shall be confidential and exempt from public
disclosure under KRS 61.870 to 61.884, except when:
1.
Produced pursuant to a properly executed subpoena or court order;
(6)
(7)
(8)
or
2.
Disclosed as provided in this section.
(c) Accident reports shall be made available to:
1.
The parties to the accident;
2.
The parents or guardians of a minor who is party to the accident;
3.
Insurers or their written designee for insurance business purposes
of any party who is the subject of the report;
4.
The attorneys of the parties to the accident;
5.
Any party to litigation who files with the department a request for the
report and includes a copy of the first page of a District or Circuit
Court clerk-stamped complaint naming all parties; and
6.
The Department of Workplace Standards in the Education and
Labor Cabinet if the accident report is pertinent to an occupational
safety and health investigation.
(a) Except as provided for in paragraph (b) of this subsection, the department
shall not release accident reports for a commercial purpose.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the department may,
as a matter of public safety, contract with an outside entity and release
unredacted vehicle damage data extracted from accident reports to the
entity if the data is used solely for the purpose of providing the public a
means of determining a vehicle's accident history. The department may
further contract with a third party to provide electronic access to reports
for persons and entities who are entitled to the reports under subsection
(5) of this section.
The department shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with
KRS Chapter 13A to set out a fee schedule for accident reports made available
pursuant to subsections (5) and (8) of this section. These fees shall be in
addition to those charged to the public for records produced under KRS
Chapter 61.
(a) The report shall be made available to a news-gathering organization,
solely for the purpose of publishing or broadcasting the news. The
news-gathering organization shall not use or distribute the report, or
knowingly allow its use or distribution, for a commercial purpose other
than the news-gathering organization's publication or broadcasting of the
information in the report.
(b) For the purposes of this subsection:
1.
"News-gathering organization" includes:
a.
A newspaper or periodical if it:
i.
Is published at least fifty (50) of fifty-two (52) weeks
during a calendar year;
ii.
Contains at least twenty-five percent (25%) news content
in each issue or no more than seventy-five percent (75%)
advertising content in any issue in the calendar year; and
iii. Contains news of general interest to its readers that can
include news stories, editorials, sports, weddings, births,
and death notices;
b.
A television or radio station with a valid broadcast license
issued by the Federal Communications Commission;
c.
A news organization that broadcasts over a multichannel video
programming service as defined in KRS 136.602;
d.
A Web site published by or affiliated with any entity described
in subdivision a., b., or c. of this subparagraph;
e.
An online-only newspaper or magazine that publishes news or
opinion of interest to a general audience and is not affiliated
with any entity described in subparagraph 2. of this paragraph;
and
f.
Any other entity that publishes news content by any means to
the general public or to members of a particular profession or
occupational group; and
2.
"News-gathering organization" does not include any product or
publication with the primary purpose of distributing advertising or of
publishing names and other personal identifying information
concerning parties to motor vehicle accidents which may be used to
solicit for services covered under Subtitle 39 of KRS Chapter 304.
(c) A news-gathering organization shall not be held to have used or
knowingly allowed the use of the report for a commercial purpose merely
because of its publication or broadcast.
(d) A request under this subsection shall be completed using a form
promulgated by the department through administrative regulations in
accordance with KRS Chapter 13A. The form under this paragraph shall
include:
1.
The name and address of the requestor and the news-gathering
organization the requestor represents;
2.
A statement that the requestor is a news-gathering organization
under this subsection and identifying the specific subdivision of
paragraph (b)1. of this subsection under which the requester
qualifies;
3.
A statement that the request is in compliance with the criteria
contained in this section; and
4.
A declaration of the requestor as to the accuracy and truthfulness of
the information provided in the request.
(e) 1.
The department shall redact all personal information from a report
prior to making it available to a news-gathering organization as
defined under paragraph (b)1.f. of this subsection.
2.
Reports may be provided to news-gathering organizations as
defined under paragraph (b)1.a. to e. of this subsection without
redaction.
3.
For the purposes of this paragraph, "personal information" means:
a.
The address, driver's license number, phone number, date of
birth, and any other contact information contained in the report
for each person listed on the report; and
b.
The vehicle identification numbers (VINs) for each vehicle
listed on the report.
(9) The motor vehicle insurers of any train engineer or other train crew member
involved in an accident on a railroad while functioning in their professional
capacity shall be prohibited from obtaining a copy of any accident report filed
on the accident under this section without written consent from the individual
the company insures. Insurance companies issuing motor vehicle policies in
the Commonwealth shall be prohibited from raising a policyholder's rates solely
because the policyholder, in his or her professional capacity, is a train engineer
or other train crew member involved in an accident on a railroad.
(10) For reporting and statistical purposes, motor scooters and autocycles as
defined in KRS 186.010 shall be listed as a distinct category and shall not be
considered to be a motor vehicle or a motorcycle for reports issued under this
section.
Effective:July 1, 2022
History: Amended 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 236, sec. 93, effective July 1, 2022. -Amended 2019 Ky. Acts ch. 22, sec. 9, effective June 27, 2019; and ch. 143,
sec. 3, effective June 27, 2019. -- Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 69, sec. 5,
effective June 29, 2017; ch. 134, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2017; and ch. 143,
sec. 1, effective June 29, 2017. -- Amended 2008 Ky. Acts ch. 160, sec. 1,
effective July 15, 2008. -- Amended 2007 Ky. Acts ch. 85, sec. 211, effective
June 26, 2007. -- Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 497, sec. 2, effective July 14,
2000. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 478, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1994. -Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 94, sec. 1, effective July 13, 1990. -- Amended
1976 Ky. Acts ch. 194, sec. 1, effective January 1, 1977. -- Created 1974 Ky.
Acts ch. 335, sec. 1.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/15/2008). The numbering of the
subsections in this section has been altered by the Reviser of Statutes from the
numbering in 2008 Ky. Acts ch. 160, sec. 1, under the authority of KRS 7.136.
Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Kentucky may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
