Georgia crash reporting duties for truck crashes

Notice duty under O.C.G.A. 40-6-273

Section 40-6-273 places the reporting duty on the "driver of a vehicle involved in an accident" that produces one of the results the section names. One result is injury to or death of a person in a truck crash or other accident, and that result triggers the duty with no dollar threshold attached. The other result is property damage to an apparent extent of $500.00 or more, so a truck crash that causes property damage alone triggers the duty only when the apparent damage reaches that amount. Section 40-6-273 states the timing in these words: the driver "shall immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of such accident" to the office the section names. For truck accidents with either result, the duty belongs to the person driving the truck as the driver of a vehicle involved.^[1]

Section 40-6-273 sends the notice to different offices depending on where the accident occurs. When a truck accident resulting in injury or death, or in apparent property damage of $500.00 or more, occurs within a municipality, the driver gives notice to the local police department. When the accident occurs outside a municipality, the section directs the notice to the office of the county sheriff or to the nearest office of the state patrol. For a truck crash outside a municipality, the text offers the sheriff's office and the nearest state patrol office as alternatives.^[1]

Section 40-6-273 uses the word vehicle, rather than motor vehicle, the term in Section 40-6-273.1, or commercial motor vehicle, the term defined in Section 40-5-142(7), and the notice duty of truck drivers rests on that same wording. Court decisions decide how the phrases "apparent extent" and "immediately" in Section 40-6-273 apply to particular facts, and this entry does not cover those decisions.^[1][4][2]

Information drivers are instructed to give under O.C.G.A. 40-6-273.1

Section 40-6-273.1 operates at the scene of an accident "required to be reported in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 40-6-273". The law enforcement officer at the scene acts under it, and the instruction reaches truck drivers whose motor vehicle is involved in such an accident. That officer instructs the driver of each motor vehicle involved in the accident to report certain information "to all other parties suffering injury or property damage as an apparent result of the accident". At a truck crash that is required to be reported under Section 40-6-273, the instruction goes to the driver of the truck and to each other motor vehicle driver involved.^[4][1]

Section 40-6-273.1(1) lists the name and address of the owner and the driver of the motor vehicle. Section 40-6-273.1(2) lists the license number of the motor vehicle, so a truck driver who receives the instruction reports the license number of the truck. Section 40-6-273.1(3) lists "The name of the liability insurance carrier for the motor vehicle or the fact that such driver has a certificate of self-insurance issued pursuant to Code Section 33-34-5.1". When the owner and the truck driver are different persons, the instruction under paragraph (1) reaches the name and address of each.^[4]

Section 40-6-273 and Section 40-6-273.1 describe separate steps, including at truck crashes required to be reported under Section 40-6-273. Under Section 40-6-273, the driver, including a truck driver, gives notice of the accident to a law enforcement office. Under Section 40-6-273.1, the officer at the scene instructs each motor vehicle driver to report the listed information to the other parties who suffered injury or property damage. In truck accidents resulting in injury to or death of a person, or in apparent property damage of $500.00 or more, the first step belongs to the driver and the second begins with the officer's instruction.^[1][4]

Commercial motor vehicle and driver definitions in O.C.G.A. 40-5-142

Section 40-5-142 introduces its terms with the words "As used in this article" and, according to the official code hierarchy, sits in Article 7 (Commercial Drivers' Licenses) of Chapter 5 (Drivers' Licenses), spanning sections 40-5-140 through 40-5-159. Under Section 40-5-142(7), commercial motor vehicle means "a motor vehicle designed or used to transport passengers or property" when it meets a condition listed in that paragraph. One condition is a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds, or such lesser rating as determined by federal regulation, measured under the gross vehicle weight rating definition in Section 40-5-142(17). Another condition is that the vehicle is designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver. A further condition is that the vehicle is transporting hazardous materials designated under 49 U.S.C. Section 5103 and required to be placarded under subpart F of Title 49 C.F.R. Part 172, or is transporting a material listed as a select agent or toxin in Title 42 C.F.R. Part 73, in whatever quantity. Section 40-5-142(7) provides that, for the purposes of this article, "no agricultural vehicle, commercial vehicle operated by military personnel for military purposes, recreational vehicle, or fire-fighting or emergency equipment vehicle shall be considered a commercial motor vehicle".^[2]

Section 40-5-142(7) defines agricultural vehicle as "a farm vehicle which is controlled and operated by a farmer, including operation by employees or family members". Under that definition, the vehicle is used to transport agricultural products, farm machinery, or farm supplies to or from a farm. The definition also requires that the vehicle be operated within 150 miles of the farmer's farm. The definition further requires that the vehicle be "not used in the operations of a common or contract carrier".^[2]

Section 40-5-142(7) defines fire-fighting or emergency equipment vehicle as "an authorized emergency vehicle" that is equipped with audible and visible signals and is subject to traffic regulations under Code Section 40-6-6. The same paragraph provides that "Any other waiver by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration pursuant to Federal Law 49 C.F.R. Parts 383 and 384" of the United States Department of Transportation supersedes state law in authorizing the Department of Driver Services to exempt those classes. Section 40-5-151 uses the defined term commercial motor vehicle when it sets periods during which a person, such as a truck driver, is disqualified from driving one.^[2][3]

Under Section 40-5-142(17), gross vehicle weight rating means "the value specified by the manufacturer or manufacturers as the maximum loaded weight of a single or a combination (articulated) vehicle" or the registered gross weight, whichever is greater. For a combination vehicle, the gross combination weight rating is the gross vehicle weight rating of the power unit plus the gross vehicle weight rating of the towed unit or units. When the manufacturer specifies no value for the towed unit or units, the rating of the combination is the power unit's gross vehicle weight rating plus the total weight of the towed unit or units, including the loads on them. For a truck driver whose power unit tows a trailer, the combination rule adds the rating of the towed unit to that of the power unit.^[2]

Section 40-5-142(19) states that motor vehicle means "a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power used on highways" or, as a separate alternative category, a vehicle of another kind required to be registered under the laws of this state. The definition excludes a vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer operated exclusively on a rail. Under Section 40-5-142(19.1), noncommercial motor vehicle means "a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles not defined by the term" commercial motor vehicle in that Code section or in the regulations of the department for the purpose of licensure.^[2]

Section 40-5-142(12) defines driver as a person "who drives, operates, or is in actual physical control of a commercial motor vehicle" in a place open to the general public for purposes of vehicular traffic, or a person who is required to hold a commercial driver's license. Under Section 40-5-142(14), employer means a person who "owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle or assigns a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle on its behalf". The employer definition names the United States and a state among such persons. It also names a political subdivision of a state.^[2]

Under Section 40-5-142(18), hazardous materials means "any material that has been designated as hazardous" under 49 U.S.C. Section 5103 when it is required to be placarded under subpart F of Title 49 C.F.R. Part 172, or a material listed as a select agent or toxin in Title 42 C.F.R. Part 73, in whatever quantity. Section 40-5-142(14.1), one of the terms defined "As used in this article", defines fatality as "the death of a person as a result of a motor vehicle crash". Section 40-6-273, which sets the reporting duty for a truck crash or other accident, does not use that term and instead speaks of "injury to or death of any person".^[2]

Section 40-5-142(13) defines driver's license as a license issued by a state to an individual "which authorizes the individual to drive a motor vehicle". Under Section 40-5-142(6), a commercial driver's license is a license issued in accordance with the requirements of this article to an individual "which authorizes the individual to drive a class of commercial motor vehicle".^[2]

Failure to report an accident as a major traffic violation

Section 40-5-142(18.2) defines major traffic violation as a conviction of one of the offenses it lists, or of an equivalent law or ordinance, "when operating either a commercial motor vehicle or, unless otherwise specified, a noncommercial motor vehicle". Equivalent laws or ordinances of this state and of other states count, and so do those of a foreign jurisdiction. Paragraph (B) lists hit and run or leaving the scene of an accident in violation of Code Section 40-6-270, together with failure to report striking an unattended vehicle in violation of Code Section 40-6-271. The same paragraph lists failure to report striking a fixed object in violation of Code Section 40-6-272 and failure to report an accident in violation of Code Section 40-6-273. When a truck driver is convicted of failing to report an accident as Code Section 40-6-273 requires, while operating a commercial motor vehicle or, unless otherwise specified, a noncommercial motor vehicle, that conviction is one of the paragraph (B) offenses.^[2]

Because a major traffic violation is a conviction, the definition of conviction in Section 40-5-142(9) controls which outcomes count, for a truck driver as for other persons. Conviction means "an unvacated adjudication of guilt" or a determination, in a court of original jurisdiction or by an authorized administrative tribunal, that a person has violated or failed to comply with the law. It also includes an unvacated forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure the person's appearance in court, as well as "a plea of guilty or nolo contendere accepted by the court". Payment of a fine or court cost counts, and so does violation of a condition of release without bail. Paragraph (9) keeps these outcomes in the definition even when the penalty is rebated or suspended. The same holds when the penalty is probated.^[2]

Under Section 40-5-142(10), disqualification means the "suspension, revocation, or cancellation of a commercial driver's license" by a state or jurisdiction of issuance, including a license held by a truck driver. The definition also reaches the withdrawal of a person's privilege to drive a commercial motor vehicle by a state or other jurisdiction as the result of a violation of a state or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control, with parking violations left out and vehicle weight or vehicle defect violations left out as well. Paragraph (10) further lists "A determination by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that a person is not qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle".^[2]

Section 40-5-142(21) defines out-of-service order as "a temporary prohibition against driving a commercial motor vehicle". When a truck driver operating a commercial motor vehicle is issued such an order, Section 40-5-151(g)(2) provides that a copy is issued to that operator and to the operator's employer, and that a copy or notice is provided to the department. Under Section 40-5-142(16), foreign jurisdiction means a "jurisdiction other than a state of the United States", and Section 40-5-142(23) includes the District of Columbia in the term state.^[2][3]

The consequences of a major traffic violation are set by other sections of the article, including Section 40-5-151, which uses the terms defined in Section 40-5-142. Section 40-5-151(a.1) provides that a person, such as a truck driver, is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for a period of not less than one year if convicted of a first violation of a major traffic violation, except that Section 40-5-151(b) sets a period of three years when the vehicle used in the violation is transporting a hazardous material required to be placarded under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, 49 C.F.R. 105. Paragraph (B) of Section 40-5-142(18.2) places offenses under Code Sections 40-6-270 and 40-6-271 in that category. It also places offenses under Code Sections 40-6-272 and 40-6-273 there. Subject to Section 40-5-151(d), a person, including a truck driver, is disqualified from driving a commercial motor vehicle for life if convicted of a second or subsequent major traffic violation, or a combination of such violations arising from two or more separate incidents. Section 40-5-151(d) allows the department to issue regulations establishing guidelines, including conditions, under which a lifetime disqualification under subsection (c) may be reduced to a period of not less than ten years.^[3][2]

Code location and history of O.C.G.A. 40-6-273 and 40-6-273.1

The official code hierarchy shown on each page places Section 40-6-273 and Section 40-6-273.1 in Article 12 (Accidents) of Chapter 6 (Uniform Rules of the Road). Chapter 6 is part of Title 40 (Motor Vehicles and Traffic), and Article 12 spans sections 40-6-270 through 40-6-279.^[1][4]

The history line on the official page for Section 40-6-273, the provision that states the notice duty of the driver of a vehicle, including a truck driver, begins with Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 556, followed by Ga. L. 1978, p. 1494. According to that line, the provision was numbered 40-6-274 under Code 1981, and Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048 redesignated it as 40-6-273. The line then lists Ga. L. 1994, p. 97. It closes with Ga. L. 1994, p. 363.^[1]

The history line on the official page for Section 40-6-273.1, under which an officer instructs truck drivers and other motor vehicle drivers at an accident required to be reported, shows that the section was enacted by Ga. L. 1994, p. 831. The same line lists Ga. L. 2000, p. 1246 as a later act.^[4]

See also: Flanagan Law truck accident practice

See also

On related publications

• Georgia truck-crash law notes (truckaccidentlawyer.wiki)
• Liability and comparative fault in Georgia (caraccidentlawyers.wiki)