Who was Cited for a Car Accident not Admissible in Florida Car Accident Case
Posted By Scott Distasio on Jul 9, 2010 8:00pm PDT
In Tampa and every other city in Florida, law enforcement officers routinely give the at fault party in a car accident a ticket. Most people think the officers decision that the other person was at fault can be used to convince a jury of that fact at trial. Unfortunately that is not true.
In my role as a Tampa car accident attorney, I have had to give many clients the bad news that the person given the ticket at the accident scene is now claiming the car accident was not their fault. They can do so because Florida law lets them.
According to 2007->Ch0316->Section%20066#0316.066">Fla. Stat. 316.066, the accident report is not admissible as evidence at trial. Neither are any statements to law enforcement made at the accident scene. The reason for the privilege is to encourage people to speak freely about how the accident happened.