Bill Text: NJ A5446 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires motor vehicle accident reporting forms to include certain information concerning motor vehicle accidents involving fires.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-09-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [A5446 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A5446-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman CLINTON CALABRESE
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires motor vehicle accident reporting forms to include certain information concerning motor vehicle accidents involving fires.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning motor vehicle accident reporting requirements and amending R.S.39:4-131.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.39:4-131 is amended to read as follows:
39:4-131. The Department of Transportation shall prepare and supply to police departments and other suitable agencies [,] forms for accident reports calling for sufficiently detailed information with reference to a motor vehicle accident, including the cause, the conditions then existing, the persons and motor vehicles involved, whether the accident resulted in a fire and, if so, whether the motor vehicles involved were propelled by gasoline, electricity, or a combination thereof, or any other alternative fuel, the compliance with P.L.1984, c.179 (C.39:3-76.2e et seq.) by the operators and passengers of the motor vehicles involved in the accident, whether the operator of the motor vehicle was using a cellular telephone when the accident occurred, and such other information as the Commissioner of Transportation may require.
Every law enforcement officer who investigates a motor vehicle accident [of] for which a report must be made as required in this Title, or who otherwise prepares a written or an electronic report as a result of an accident or thereafter by interviewing the participants or witnesses, shall electronically transmit [a] the accident report [of such accident] to the department, on forms furnished by [it] the department and in the electronic format prescribed by the department, within five days after the law enforcement officer's investigation of the accident.
[Such] The written or electronic accident reports required to be prepared by law enforcement officers and the information contained therein shall not be privileged or held confidential. Every citizen of this State shall have the right, during regular business hours and under supervision, to inspect and copy [such] the accident reports and shall also have the right [in person] to purchase copies of the accident reports in person at the same fee established by section 6 of P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5). If copies of the accident reports are requested by means other than in person, an additional fee of up to $5 may be added to cover the administrative costs of the accident report. Upon request, a police department shall send an accident report to a person through the mail or via fax. The police department may require the person requesting the accident report to provide a completed request form and the appropriate fee prior to faxing or mailing the accident report. The police department shall provide the person requesting the accident report with the option of submitting the form and providing the appropriate fee either in person, through the mail, or via fax.
The provisions of any other law or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding, accident reports obtained pursuant to this act shall not be subject to confidentiality requirements except as provided by section 28 of P.L.1960, c.52 (C.2A:84A-28).
When a motor vehicle accident results in the death or incapacitation of the driver or any passenger, the law enforcement officer responsible for notifying the next of kin that their relative is deceased or incapacitated [, also] shall also inform the relative, in writing, how to obtain a copy of the accident report required by this section and the name, address, and telephone number of the person storing the motor vehicle pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1964, c.81 (C.39:10A-1).
The New Jersey Department of Transportation shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations to require law enforcement officers to electronically transmit [crash] accident reports required to be prepared pursuant to this section.
(cf: P.L.2023, c.55, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires motor vehicle accident reporting forms to include certain information concerning accidents involving fires.
Under current law, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (department) is required to prepare and supply to police departments and other suitable agencies forms for accident reports (accident reporting forms) calling for sufficiently detailed information with reference to a motor vehicle accident, including the cause, the conditions then existing, the persons and vehicles involved, the operators' and passengers' compliance with the seatbelt requirements established by current law, whether the operator of the vehicle was using a cellular telephone when the accident occurred, and any other information the Commissioner of Transportation may require. The bill amends current law to require the accident reporting forms to include fields to report whether the motor vehicle accident resulted in a fire and, if so, whether the motor vehicles involved were propelled by gasoline, electricity, or a combination thereof, or any other alternative fuel, in addition to the other information required by law.
