(a) Purpose. It is the purpose of this accident review policy to establish uniform procedures for reviewing all motor vehicle accidents involving City equipment and/or personnel.
(b) Composition of Accident Review Committee. An Accident Review Committee is hereby established, to be composed of seven members, with the Chairman appointed by the City Manager, as follows:
(1) The Safety Coordinator;
(2) One police officer designated by the Police Chief;
(3) One officer designated by the Fire Chief;
(4) One division head from the Department of Public Works designated by the Director of Public Works;
(5) One administrative officer designated by the City Manager;
(6) One Transit Division head designated by the Assistant City Manager- Community Development; and
(7) One "at-large" employee designated by the City Manager.
(c) Functions of Committee. The Committee shall be responsible for reviewing the circumstances surrounding each motor vehicle and equipment accident involving City equipment and/or personnel and to determine whether the accident is either "preventable" or "nonpreventable," as outlined below. The Committee shall formulate its own rules for the conduct of its meetings. All meetings of the Committee, except executive sessions, shall be public and open to any interested party. All actions of the Committee shall be by a majority vote of the members in attendance and voting. However, a minority opinion may be attached to any Committee recommendation.
(d) Scope of Committee Responsibility. The Committee shall review all motor vehicle accidents involving City equipment or personnel to determine whether or not the person responsible for the City equipment was at fault or contributed to, or was blameless in, the particular incident. The Committee shall not interfere or influence any law enforcement department in pursuant of criminal sanctions against any individual. If the Committee finds that the City employee did not contribute to the accident due to his own actions, then the Committee shall find that the accident was nonpreventable and no disciplinary action shall be taken. If the Committee investigation reveals that the City employee did contribute to the accident due to his own action or inaction, then the Committee shall find that the accident was preventable and recommend appropriate disciplinary action. All findings of the Committee shall be reported promptly to the department head, the Director of Employee Relations and the employee. Appeals may be made to the Accident Review Board at the next regular meeting.
(e) Preventable and Nonpreventable Accidents Defined.
(1) A preventable accident is an accident resulting from the failure of the operator of the equipment to:
A. Obey all traffic laws;
B. Recognize the rights of others; or
C. Use due care in the operation of his equipment.
(2) A nonpreventable accident is an accident resulting from causes other than those of the employee's causation and in which the employee exercised either defensive driving and/or due care.
(f) Reporting of Accidents. It is the duty and responsibility of each City employee to report all motor vehicle accidents in which City equipment and/or employees are involved. Failure to report such accidents shall be considered a serious offense and appropriate disciplinary action shall be taken. An accident is defined as any incident involving a City employee and/or equipment in which any property damage or injury results, regardless of how slight. Accidents that involve City equipment and/or personnel shall be reported immediately to the Police Department. Accidents occurring outside the City limits shall be reported in the same manner to the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction, then reported to the Battle Creek Police Department. The Battle Creek Police Department shall be notified of such out-of-City accidents as soon as possible and shall obtain copies of all reports pertaining thereto. Police reports of all accidents involving City employees and equipment shall be made available to Committee members by the Committee Secretary.
(g) Procedure for Reviewing Accidents. All accidents shall be reviewed by the Accident Review Committee to determine whether or not the accident was preventable. The employee involved in an accident may attend, upon request, any session in which his particular accident is discussed, except executive sessions. Executive sessions shall be called for the sole purpose of voting on whether or not any particular accident was preventable. If an accident is found to have been preventable, the Committee shall so report to the Police Department and the employee along with the Committee's disciplinary recommendation.
(h) Penalties for Preventable Accidents. Disciplinary action recommended by the Accident Review Committee shall be as prescribed in this Administration Code and shall be imposed in accordance with the circumstances of the case. In no case shall the penalty be greater than that prescribed in this Administration Code. All penalties for preventable accidents shall be considered as a matter of record for a period of one year from the date thereof, and any disciplinary action imposed for preventable accidents occurring within the one-year period shall be based, in part, upon the prior offense and the disciplinary action imposed. Recommended disciplinary action for preventable accidents is as follows:
(1) First accident: verbal or written reprimand and attendance at a National Safety Council Defense Driving Course (DDC);
(2) Second accident: suspension;
(3) Third accident: suspension, demotion or discharge.
More severe penalties may be recommended at any step if warranted by the circumstances.
(Ord. 14-78. Passed 11-28-78.)