Assembly BillChaptered/SignedVehicle
AB 2761: Vehicles: crash data.
What AB 2761 does, verified October 2, 2026
The bill aims to improve the collection and use of crash data in California. It would repeal existing requirements for paper forms used to report accidents and instead require the Department of the California Highway Patrol to develop minimum electronic submission requirements for crash investigation reports by January 1, 2030. This change would allow for more efficient and accurate data collection, making crash data available to the public at no cost. The bill would also eliminate the requirement for law enforcement agencies to forward reports within a specific timeframe and instead allow them to electronically submit reports to the department.
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Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 964, Statutes of 2026. (2026-09-30)Alert me
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| Sep. 30, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 964, Statutes of 2026. |
| Sep. 30, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Aug. 27, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. |
| Aug. 20, 2026 | In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling. |
| Aug. 20, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.). |
Latest bill textChaptered version, September 30, 2026 · 1,905 words
Assembly Bill No. 2761
CHAPTER 964
An act to amend Sections 2408, 20008, 20011, 20012, 20013, 20014, and 22358.7 of, to add Section 271 to, and to repeal and add Section 2407 of, the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
[ Approved by Governor September 30, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State September 30, 2026. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2761, Petrie-Norris. Vehicles: crash data.
Under existing law, the Department of the California Highway Patrol is responsible for enforcement of all laws regulating the operation of vehicles and use of the highways, as specified. Existing law gives the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol full responsibility and primary jurisdiction for the administration and enforcement of the laws, and for the investigation of traffic accidents, on all toll highways and state highways constructed as freeways, except as specified. Existing law requires the department to provide to, among others, police departments, coroners, and sheriffs, forms for accident reports that include sufficient detail regarding the cause of the traffic accident, the conditions at the time of the accident, and the persons and vehicles involved in the accident. Existing law requires the driver of a vehicle, except a driver of a common carrier vehicle, to report an accident resulting in injuries or death to a person to the department or the local police department within 24 hours after the accident. Existing law requires a coroner or medical examiner to report a death of a person that was the result of a traffic accident by the 10th day of the calendar month following the accident. Existing law requires each police department, if they received a report and were responsible for investigating the accident, to forward a copy of the report to the department by the 5th day of the month that follows the month that they received the report.
This bill would repeal the requirement that the department provide the above-described forms and would instead require the department, by January 1, 2030, to develop minimum requirements for electronic submission of crash investigation reports, as specified. The bill would require a coroner or medical examiner to submit the above-described report electronically. The bill would also eliminate the requirement that a law enforcement agency forward reports in compliance with the above-described timeline and would instead require the agency to electronically submit the reports to the department, as specified. The bill would make an electronic copy of a crash investigation report available to the requestor at no cost. By increasing the duties on local law enforcement, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would make other conforming changes.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 271 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:271.
“Crash” has the same meaning as “accident” or “collision.”SEC. 2.
Section 2407 of the Vehicle Code is repealed.SEC. 3.
Section 2407 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:2407.
(a) By January 1, 2030, the department shall prescribe the minimum requirements to document traffic crashes and determine the method and standards for electronically submitting all crash investigation reports by providing a crash investigation report system to police departments, coroners, sheriffs, and other suitable agencies or individuals to be used in the documentation of traffic crashes as required pursuant to this code.(b) The requirements developed by the department pursuant to this section are exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
SEC. 4.
Section 2408 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:2408.
The department shall maintain a database of all crash investigation reports to analyze and publish annually or at more frequent intervals statistical information based thereon as to the number and location of traffic crashes, as well as other information relating to traffic crash prevention. Based upon its findings after such analysis, the department may conduct further necessary detailed research to more fully determine the cause and control of highway crashes. It may further conduct experimental field tests within areas of the State to prove the practicability of various ideas advanced in traffic control and crash prevention.SEC. 5.
Section 20008 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:20008.
(a) The driver of a vehicle, other than a common carrier vehicle, involved in a crash resulting in injuries to or death of a person shall within 24 hours after the crash make or cause to be made a written report of the crash to the Department of the California Highway Patrol or, if the crash occurred within a city, to either the Department of the California Highway Patrol or the police department of the city in which the crash occurred. If the agency that receives the report is not responsible for investigating the crash, it shall immediately forward the report to the law enforcement agency that is responsible for investigating the crash.(b) A law enforcement agency shall document traffic crashes in accordance with Section 2407, and shall electronically submit the completed crash investigation reports in the timeframe prescribed by the Department of the California Highway Patrol.
(c) The owner or driver of a common carrier vehicle involved in a crash shall make a like report to the Department of California Highway Patrol on or before the 10th day of the month following the crash.
SEC. 6.
Section 20011 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:20011.
A coroner or medical examiner shall, on or before the 10th day of each month, report electronically, in accordance with Section 2407, to the Department of the California Highway Patrol the death of any person during the preceding calendar month as the result of a traffic crash involving a motor vehicle, along with the circumstances of the crash. Chemical test results, including blood alcohol content and blood drug concentrations, shall be reported in writing when available.SEC. 7.
Section 20012 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:20012.
(a) All required crash investigation reports, and supplemental reports, shall be without prejudice to the individual so reporting and shall be for the confidential use of the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the California Highway Patrol, except that the Department of the California Highway Patrol or the law enforcement agency to whom the crash was reported shall disclose the entire contents of the reports, including, but not limited to, the names and addresses of persons involved or injured in, or witnesses to, a crash, the registration numbers and descriptions of vehicles involved, the date, time and location of a crash, all diagrams, statements of the drivers involved or occupants injured in the crash and the statements of all witnesses, to any person who may have a proper interest therein, including, but not limited to, the driver or drivers involved, or the guardian or conservator thereof, the parent of a minor driver, the authorized representative of a driver, or to any named person injured therein, the owners of vehicles or property damaged thereby, persons who may incur civil liability, including liability based upon a breach of warranty arising out of the crash, and any attorney who declares under penalty of perjury that they represent any of the persons described in this subdivision.(b) A request for a printed copy of a crash investigation report shall be accompanied by payment of a fee, provided that fee shall not exceed the actual cost of providing the copy. An electronic copy of a crash investigation report shall be provided at no cost to the requester.
SEC. 8.
Section 20013 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:20013.
A crash investigation report shall not be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal, arising out of a crash, except that the department shall furnish upon demand of any person who has, or claims to have, made such a report or upon demand of any court, a certificate showing that a specified crash investigation report has or has not been made to the department solely to prove a compliance or failure to comply with the requirement that such a report be made to the department.SEC. 9.
Section 20014 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:20014.
All required crash investigation reports and supplemental reports and all reports made to the Department of the California Highway Patrol by any peace officer, other person assigned by a law enforcement agency to investigate crashes, member of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, or other employee of the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the California Highway Patrol, shall be immediately available for the confidential use of any division in the department needing the same, for confidential use of the Department of Transportation, and, with respect to crashes occurring on highways other than state highways, for the confidential use of the local authority having jurisdiction over the highway.SEC. 10.
Section 22358.7 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:22358.7.
(a) If the Department of Transportation or a local authority, after completing an engineering and traffic survey, finds that the speed limit is still more than is reasonable or safe, the Department of Transportation may or the local authority may, by ordinance, determine and declare a prima facie speed limit that has been reduced an additional five miles per hour for either or both of the following reasons:(1) The portion of highway has been designated as a safety corridor. The Department of Transportation or a local authority shall not deem more than one-fifth of their streets as safety corridors.
(2) The portion of highway is adjacent to any land or facility that generates high concentrations of bicyclists or pedestrians, especially those from vulnerable groups such as children, seniors, persons with disabilities, and the unhoused.
(b) (1) As used in this section, “safety corridor” shall be defined by the Department of Transportation in the next revision of the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. In making this determination, the Department of Transportation shall consider highways that have the highest number of serious injuries and fatalities based on crash data.
(2) The Department of Transportation shall, in the next revision of the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, determine what constitutes land or facilities that generate high concentrations of bicyclists and pedestrians, as used in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). In making this determination, the Department of Transportation shall consider density, road use type, and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure present on a section of highway.
(c) A peace officer shall issue only warning citations for violations of exceeding the speed limit by 10 miles per hour or less for the first 30 days that a lower speed limit is in effect as authorized by this section.
SEC. 11.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.Text of AB 2761 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions