(A) The Accident Review Board. The Accident Review Board shall consist of supervisory level employees.
(B) Preventable/at fault accident defined. A preventable/at fault accident is any accident involving an employee while performing his or her daily work assignments, which results in property damage and/or personal injury, regardless of who was injured, what property was damaged, to what extent, or where it occurred, in which the employee in question failed to exercise every reasonable precaution to prevent the accident.
(C) Procedure.
(1) The following procedures will be adhered to by the Board members:
(a) Each member shall review a copy of the accident report form(s).
(b) Testimony from the employee will be considered.
(c) The facts as presented in the accident report shall be considered on their merits.
(d) The Board shall reach its decision by a majority verbal vote.
(2) The facts of each accident as presented to members of the Board will come from the following sources:
(a) The accident report form(s).
(b) Statements by the employee and witness(es).
(c) Supervisor's report.
(d) Photographs or additional diagrams, if required.
(e) Inspection of accident locations.
(f) Testimony of necessary individuals, if required.
(3) All accident reports submitted to the Chairman of the Accident Review Board shall be processed within ten working days (or as soon as is reasonably possible) after the date of occurrence. If the report is not evaluated within ten working days (or as soon as is reasonably possible), the department head shall be notified of the reason for the delay.
(4) Each member of the Board will receive copies of all applicable accident report forms from the Board Chairman.
(5) Each member of the Board will make an independent judgment of the accident. A verbal vote will be taken to determine if the accident was preventable or nonpreventable, and whether the employee was not at fault, partially at fault, or at fault.
(6) The Chairman of the Accident Review Board shall then submit the Board's findings and final vote to the department head. The department head will notify the employee of any possible disciplinary actions within five working days.
(D) Guidelines to determine accident preventability/at fault. It is impossible to describe in detail the many ways employees might prevent an accident without being primarily responsible. Extenuating circumstances with factors relating to the duties of the employee should be considered with discretion. The following comments are therefore intended as a guide in evaluating accidents and are not presented as all-inclusive.
(E) Accidents involving more than one city vehicle or employee. When two or more employees are involved in the same accident, each employee may be charged with a preventable, at fault accident, regardless of which one was responsible for the occurrence.
(F) Witness statements and traffic citations. Admissions of being at fault by the other driver or the fact that the other driver involved was issued a traffic citation or statements or exoneration by the police officer are not, in themselves, conclusive evidence to judge an accident nonpreventable. A careful study must be made of all conditions to determine how the employee in question contributed to the situation by acts of omission or commission. Unless a thorough investigation indicated that the employee in question could not have avoided involvement by reasonable defensive driving and safety practices, the accident will be regarded as preventable/at fault. An accident review will be held separate from any other legal proceedings.
(G) Intersections. It is the responsibility of the employee to approach, enter and cross intersections prepared to avoid accidents that might occur through the action of other drivers. Failure of other drivers to conform to law or traffic control devices will not automatically discharge an accident as non- preventable.
(H) Department vehicles and equipment on emergency operations. Employees on emergency operations, who cross an intersection against a red light, go through a stoplight or make any other driving maneuver during emergency operations, are not relieved of the responsibility of causing an accident. In the absence of convincing circumstances, when driving a village vehicle under emergency conditions, the accident in most cases should be ruled preventable/at fault.
(I) Backing. All backing accidents are preventable. An employee driver and his or her co-workers are not relieved of his or her responsibility to back safely under practically any circumstances.
(J) Front-end collisions. Regardless of the abrupt or unexpected stop of the vehicle ahead, the employee driver can prevent front-end collisions by maintaining a safe following distance at all times. He or she is expected to be prepared for possible obstructions on the roadway. Overdriving headlights at night is a common cause of front-end collisions. Night speed should not be greater than that which will permit the vehicle to come to a stop within the forward distance illuminated by the vehicle headlights.
(K) Rear-end collisions. Investigation often disclose that drivers being struck from behind by failing to maintain a margin of safety in their own following distance. Rear-end collisions proceeded by a rollback, an abrupt stop at a grade crossing, when a traffic signal changes, or when the driver fails to signal a turn at an intersection, should be ruled preventable/at fault.
(L) Passing. Failure to pass safely indicates faulty judgment and the possible failure to consider one or more of the important factors a driver must observe before attempting the maneuver. The entire passing maneuver is voluntary; it is the driver's responsibility to pass with safety.
(M) Being passed. Sideswipes and cut-offs involving employee drivers are preventable when the employee fails to yield to the passing vehicle by slowing down or moving to the right where possible.
(N) Lane encroachment. A safe driver is rarely a victim of entrapment by another driver when changing lanes. Also, entrapment in merging traffic is an indication of unwillingness to yield to other vehicles or to wait for a break in traffic. Drivers must make extra allowances to protect themselves in areas of limited sight distances.
(O) Grade crossing. Collisions with fixed rail vehicles occurring at grade crossings, in a rail yard, switch area or on private property are the responsibility of the driver to prevent.
(P) Opposing vehicles. It is important to check the action of the employee driver when involved in a head-on or sideswipe accident with a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction. Even though an opposing vehicle enters the driver's traffic lane, it may be possible for the employee driver to avoid the collision.
(Q) Turning. Turning movements require special care. Left or right turns involving other vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles or pedestrians are the responsibility of the driver making the turn. Failure to signal, improper lane usage, check mirrors or take any other defensive action should be considered. Sudden turns should be carefully examined. U-turns by the employee driver in a collision are preventable/at fault.
(R) Pedestrians. Traffic regulations and court decisions generally favor the pedestrian hit by a moving vehicle. A pedestrian struck while crossing at midblock or from between parked cars does not relieve a driver from taking precautions to prevent such accidents.
(S) Weather. Adverse weather conditions are not a valid excuse for being involved in an accident in most cases. The driver is expected to adjust his or her driving to prevailing weather conditions.
(T) Fixed objects. Collisions with fixed objects are preventable.
(U) While parked. Unconventional parking locations, including double parking, failure to put out warning devices, and the like, generally constitute evidence for judging an accident preventable/at fault.
(V) Defensive driving defined. The following definition of DEFENSIVE DRIVING should be applied to all accidents under consideration by the Board: “A DEFENSIVE DRIVER is one who commits no driving errors himself or herself and makes allowances for the lack of skill or improper driving practices of the other drivers. A DEFENSIVE DRIVER adjusts his or her own driving to compensate for unusual weather, road, and traffic conditions, and is not tricked into an accident by the unsafe actions of pedestrians and other drivers. By being alert to accident inducing situations, he or she recognizes the need for preventative action in advance and takes the necessary precautions to prevent the accident. As a DEFENSIVE DRIVER, he or she knows when it is necessary to slow down, stop or yield his or her right-of-way to avoid an accident.”
(W) Format for the Accident Review Board’s findings.
VILLAGE OF BELLWOOD
ACCIDENT REVIEW BOARD
FINDINGS
Date:__________
Re: Case Number
Department
Date of Accident
Name of Employee Involved
After careful analysis of the information, documents and other materials submitted to this Board, the Board has concluded the following findings,
The incident in question was,
A. Preventable______________
Non-Preventable__________
B. At fault__________________
Partially at Fault___________
Not at Fault______________
on the part of the employee.
A preventable accident is defined by the National Safety Council as any accident involving an employee and/or vehicle which results in property damage and/or personal inquiry, regardless of who was injured, what property was damaged, to what extent, or where it occurred, in which the employee in question failed to exercise every possible precaution to prevent the accident.
A final vote by the Accident Review Board determined the above decision.
Chairman, Accident Review Board Date
(Ord. 03-55, passed 10-8-03)