MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISION REPORTS
Oklahoma City Municipal Code ch. 43, art. I, div. 2
in effectOklahoma City Municipal Code § 43-14.1 Legislative findings regarding motor vehicle accident reports.
§ 43-14.1. - Legislative findings regarding motor vehicle accident reports.
For purposes of this division, the Council of The City of Oklahoma City makes the following findings:
(1) motor vehicle accident reports (which includes reports of motor vehicle collisions and pedestrian/motor vehicle collisions) are prepared pursuant to State law on forms developed by the Department of Public Safety ("DPS") and are forwarded to the DPS as required by 47 O.S. § 40-102.
(2) motor vehicle accident reports are law enforcement records and do not fall within one of the eight categories of crime related documents required to be made available for public inspection under 51 O.S. § 24A.8(A) of the Oklahoma Open Records Act. Under § 24A.8(B) of the Act, motor vehicle accident reports can be withheld except where a court finds that the public interest or the interest of an individual outweighs the reason for denial of access.
(3) Congress has determined in the enactment of the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 ("DPPA"), Pub. L. No. 103-322, 108 Stat. 2099-2102, codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2721-2725, in order to protect personal privacy and safety of licensed drivers, State motor vehicle records should be protected from disclosure to third parties. Although DPPA is not applicable specifically to the disclosure of traffic accident reports, it is the specific finding of the Council that there is an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy of persons involved in vehicular accidents resulting in commercial solicitation and harassment by medical and legal practitioners by continuing to allow disclosure to third parties except as provided herein.
(4) it is further the legislative finding of the Council that legitimate legal newspapers and news media ("press") currently do not reveal the personal information of individuals involved in traffic accidents and there is a legitimate need for the press to have access to such information when conducting the balancing test.
(Ord. No. 21897, § 2, 1-2-02)
Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 43-14.2 Definitions.
§ 43-14.2. - Definitions.
As used in this division, the following words, terms and phrases shall have the following meanings:
(a) Authorized representative shall mean duly authorized parents or other family members, legal guardians, or legal counsel acting on behalf of persons involved in traffic collisions.
(b) Collision report means any report regarding a motor vehicle collision which has been submitted by an individual or investigating officer on a form prescribed or used by the Department of Public Safety or local Police Department.
(c) Commercial solicitation means any attempt to use, or offer for use, information contained in a collision report to solicit any person named in the report, or a relative of the person, or to solicit a professional, business, or commercial relationship. Commercial solicitation does not include publication in a newspaper, as defined in 25 O.S. § 106, or broadcast of information by news media for news purposes, or obtaining information for the purpose of verification or settlement of claims by insurance companies.
(d) Factual identifier for a motor vehicle collision shall mean the following: 1) date and time; 2) location; 3) Police incident number; or 4) names of involved persons.
(e) "Newspaper" means a legal newspaper as defined in 25 O.S. § 106, provided that the primary purpose of the newspaper is not the publication of personally identifying information concerning parties involved in the traffic collision.
(f) Person involved in the collision shall mean any person driving or riding in a motor vehicle involved in a collision, any person who was a pedestrian or bicyclist injured or endangered by a motor vehicle collision, or any person who has sustained any kind of personal injury or property damage or incurred a possible liability for personal injury or property damage as the result of a motor vehicle collision.
(g) Provider of health services means any person that provides health care services to the injured person under a license, certification or registration issued pursuant to Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or any hospital or related institution that offers or provides health care services under a license issued pursuant to 63 O.S. § 1-702 et seq.
(Ord. No. 21897, § 2, 1-2-02; Ord. No. 24204, § 1, 12-14-10)
Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 43-14.3 Motor vehicle collision reports; limitations on inspection of traffic collision reports; Class "a" offense for unlawful use; affidavit required.
§ 43-14.3. - Motor vehicle collision reports; limitations on inspection of traffic collision reports; Class "a" offense for unlawful use; affidavit required.
(a) Every Police Officer or duly authorized member of the Police Department who, in the regular course of duty, investigates or receives a report of a motor vehicle collision resulting in injury to or death of a person or total property damage to an apparent extent of $500.00 or more shall prepare a written report of the collision on the standard collision report form supplied by the Department of Public Safety. Such reports shall be forwarded by the Police Department to the Department of Public Safety within 30 days of the collision or, if the collision results in the death of any person, then within 20 days of the death of the person, whichever time period is lesser.
(b) Reports of collisions shall be kept confidential for a period of at least 60 days after the date of the collision; provided, the reports shall be made available as soon as practicable upon request to any:
(i) party involved in the collision;
(ii) legal representatives of a party involved in the collision;
(iii) State, County or City Law Enforcement Agency;
(iv) the Oklahoma Department of Transportation or any county or city transportation or road and highway maintenance agency;
(v) licensed insurance agents of a party involved in the collision;
(vi) insurer of a party involved in the collision;
(vii) insurer to which a party has applied for coverage;
(viii) person under contract with an insurer, as described in subparagraph v, vi or vii of this paragraph, to provide claims or underwriting information;
(ix) prosecutorial authority;
(x) newspaper as defined in 25 O.S. § 106;
(xi) radio or television broadcaster;
(xii) licensed private investigators employed by a party involved in the collision;
(xiii) provider of health services to a party involved in the collision; or;
(xiv) any other person entitled to receive a copy of the report by authority of 47 O.S. § 40-102.
(c) It shall be unlawful and constitute a Class "a" offense for any person to obtain motor vehicle collision reports when said person knows or believes or has reason to know or believe that the ultimate purpose of obtaining said reports is for the use of personal information contained therein for commercial solicitation of persons involved in motor vehicle collisions and/or their family members by any persons and/or entities, including, but not limited to legal or medical professionals or representatives or agents of said professionals.
(d) For purposes of this section, publication in a legal newspaper or broadcast by the news media for news purposes shall not constitute a use of data for commercial solicitation.
(e) No motor vehicle collision report shall be released without the execution of an affidavit, which shall be in a form approved by the Chief of Police. Except as provided in paragraphs (g) and (h) of this section, any person requesting a collision report may be required to state, in writing, under penalty of perjury, that the report will not be examined, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial solicitation purposes.
(f) The Chief of Police is hereby authorized to establish all necessary or appropriate procedures to implement the provisions of this division.
(g) Publication in a newspaper, as defined in 25 O.S. § 106, or broadcast by news media for news purposes shall not constitute a resale or use of data for trade or commercial solicitation purposes. Because publication by a newspaper, broadcast by news media for news purposes, or obtaining information for verification or settlement of claims by insurance companies is not a resale or use of data for commercial solicitation purposes, an affidavit shall not be required as a condition for allowing a member of a newspaper or licensed broadcast news media, or allowing an agent, or business serving as an agent, to insurance companies, to examine or obtain a copy of a collision report.
(h) Any agent or business obtaining information for verification or settlement of claims involving persons named in a report shall secure an affidavit annually from each client stating the information provided to the client shall not be used for commercial solicitation purposes under penalty of law.
(i) The Police Department shall include the following or a similar notice upon any copy of a collision report furnished to others: "Warning - State Law. Use of contents for commercial solicitation is unlawful."
(Ord. No. 21897, § 2, 1-2-02; Ord. No. 24204, § 1, 12-14-10; Ord. No. 27047, § 1, 4-26-22)
Source: City of Oklahoma City, Municipal Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/ok/oklahoma_city/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=OKMUCO2020_CH43PODE_ARTIINGE_DIV2MOVECOREFetched: 10/28/2026