KRS § 189.635 — KY Code / Title XVI / Chapter 189 / Section 189.635
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
Status: in_force

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) As used in this section:

(a) "Department" means the Department of Kentucky State Police; and

(b) "Law enforcement agency" means any unit of government listed in KRS

15.380 that employs a certified peace officer.

(2) The department shall be responsible for maintaining a reporting system for all

vehicle accidents which occur within the Commonwealth. These accident reports

shall be utilized for purposes as will improve the traffic safety program in the

Commonwealth involving the collection, processing, storing, and dissemination of

accident data and the establishment of procedures by administrative regulations to

ensure that uniform definitions, classifications, and other federal requirements are

in compliance.

(3) (a) 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.

(b) In the event the operator fails to notify or is incapable of notifying a law

enforcement officer having jurisdiction, the responsibility to make the

notification under this subsection shall rest with the owner of the vehicle or

any occupant of the vehicle at the time of the accident.

(c) If the accident involves a fully autonomous vehicle, as defined in KRS

186.760, the responsibility to make the notification under this subsection shall

rest with the owner of the fully autonomous vehicle or a person on behalf of

the vehicle owner.

(d) 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.

(4) (a) 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 within ten (10) days after investigation of the

accident upon forms supplied by the department.

(b) A law enforcement agency may retain a copy of the reports that the agency is

required to submit to the department under paragraph (a) of this subsection.

Reports retained by a law enforcement agency under this subsection shall not

be considered open records under KRS 61.870 to 61.884 and shall remain

confidential, except as provided in this section. Nothing in this subsection is

intended to impose greater limitations on disclosure of vehicle accident

reports on law enforcement agencies than those imposed on the department by

this section.

(5) (a) 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 within ten (10) days of occurrence of the accident upon forms

provided by the department.

(b) If the accident involves a fully autonomous vehicle, as defined in KRS

186.760, the responsibility to file the report under this subsection shall rest

with the owner of the fully autonomous vehicle or a person on behalf of the

vehicle owner.

(6) (a) All accident reports filed with the department in compliance with subsection

(5) 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 (9) 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; 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;

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; and

7. A law enforcement agency, subject to the limitations in subsections

(4)(b) and (7) of this section.

(7) (a) Except as provided for in paragraph (b) of this subsection, the department or a

law enforcement agency shall not release accident reports for a commercial

purpose.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the department or a law

enforcement agency 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 or

a law enforcement agency 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 (6) of this section.

(8) 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 (6) and (9) of this section. These fees shall be in addition to

those charged to the public for records produced under KRS Chapter 61.

(9) (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 website 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 number (VIN) for each vehicle listed on

the report.

(10) 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.

(11) 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.