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Virginia was amended in 1992,” said Col. Huggins, “to increase from $750 to $1,000 the amount of property damage necessary for a crash to be considered ‘reportable’ from a law enforcement perspective. This statute gives law enforcement agencies discretion in determining those relatively minor crashes that can be settled between the parties involved with the exchange of information such as names, addresses, insurance companies, and other pertinent information.”
He said that troopers will provide drivers at the scene of a crash with forms indicating the information to be exchanged.
May law enforcement agencies across the state already have discontinued the practice of investigating crashes in which there is no personal injury of death and when property damage is less than $1,000.
“We believe this decision will significantly enhance our ability to serve Virginia citizens,” said Huggins, “in that it will save a considerable^ amount of the time troopers previously spent investigating these crashes and submitting required but unneeded paperwork. By permitting troopers to return much sooner to their enfrocement duties, they can give more attention to serious highway safey offenses such as speeding, drinking and driving, and other hazardous violations.”
Motorists also should benefit, he said, by experiencing fewer backups and shorter delays.
In 1993, there were 875 persons killed on Virginia’s highways, 77,852 person injured and 120,265 traffic crashes reported. The Department of State Police investigated 37,975 crashes and more than 20,000 of these were non-reportable crashes.
88.6%