(A) There is hereby established in the Police Department of this City a Traffic Division to be under the control of an officer of police, appointed by and directly responsible to the Chief of Police. It shall be the duty of the Traffic Division and other members of the Police Department to enforce the street traffic regulations of this City, to make arrests for traffic violations, to investigate accidents, and to cooperate with the officers of the City in the administration of the traffic laws and in developing ways and means to improve traffic conditions, and to carry out those duties specially imposed upon said division by this Article and the traffic articles of this City.
(B) The Police Department shall keep a record of all violations of the traffic articles of this City or of the State Vehicle Laws of which any person has been charged, together with a record of the final disposition of all such alleged offenses. Such record shall be so maintained as to show all types of violations and the total of each. Said record shall accumulate during at least a 5-year period and from that time on the record shall be maintained complete for at least the most recent 5-year period. All such records and reports shall be public records.
(C) (1) It shall be the duty of the Traffic Division, assisted by other police officers of the department, to investigate traffic accidents, to arrest and to assist in the prosecution of those persons charged with violations of law causing or contributing to such accidents. Whenever the accidents at any particular location become numerous, the Traffic Division shall conduct studies of such accidents and determine remedial measures. The Traffic Division shall maintain a suitable system of filing accident reports. Accident reports or cards referring to them shall be filed alphabetically by location.
(2) The Traffic Division shall receive and properly file all accident reports made to it under State Law or under any Article of this City, but all such accident reports made by drivers shall be for the confidential use of the Police Department and the City Traffic Engineer, and no such report shall be admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding other than upon request of any person making such report or upon request of the court having jurisdiction to prove a compliance with the laws requiring the making of any such report.
(D) (1) The Police Department or the Traffic Division thereof shall maintain a suitable record of all traffic accidents, warnings, arrests, convictions, and complaints reported for each driver, which shall be filed alphabetically under the name of the driver concerned. Said division shall study the cases of all the drivers charged with frequent or serious violations of the traffic laws or involved in frequent traffic accidents or any serious accident, and shall attempt to discover the reasons therefor, and shall take whatever steps are lawful and reasonable to prevent the same or to have the licenses of such persons suspended or revoked. Such records shall accumulate during at least a 5-year period and from that time on such records shall be maintained complete for at least the most recent 5-year period.
(2) The Traffic Division shall annually prepare a traffic report which shall be filed with the City Manager. Such report shall contain information on traffic matters in this City as follows:
(a) The number of traffic accidents, the number of persons killed, the number of persons injured, and other pertinent traffic accident data.
(b) The number of traffic accidents investigated and other pertinent data on the safety activities of the police.
(c) The plans and recommendations of the division for future traffic safety activities.
(3) The Traffic Division shall designate a type of pennant or other identifying insignia to be displayed upon, or other method to be employed, to identify the vehicles in funeral processions.
(Prior Code, Art. 18, § 18.2)