MEMORANDUM

To: Vice Presidents and Deans

From: Yoke San L. Reynolds

Date: March 3, 2004

Re: University Accident Review Committee

Section 52-4 of the Code of Virginia requires each state agency to form an Accident Review Committee to review accidents that involve state-owned vehicles. The goals of the review are to reduce the number of vehicle accidents, promote driver safety and assign accountability. Penalties may be prescribed for the drivers involved, if the accidents were "preventable".

In reviewing the vehicle accident history for UVa., it is evident that the University's accident trend supports the need for this review. When we looked at the number of accidents involving physical damage to our vehicles and liability where our drivers were at-fault causing bodily injury or property damage to third parties, the results for the past several years certainly leave room for improvement. In FY 1999, we had 45 accidents that resulted in a total financial loss of $63,770; By FY 2003 this had risen to 60 accidents and a financial cost of $148,099. In the first half of the current fiscal year we have experienced 26 accidents, with an estimated loss amount of $91,237.

All state agencies are required to submit an annual report to the Department of State Police, indicating the number of accidents falling within the categories of "preventable", "non-preventable", or "incidental", defined in accordance with State Police guidelines.

When an accident is considered "preventable", the Accident Committee will issue a report of its findings, along with any recommendations for accident prevention and driver safety, to the Vice President for Finance. After reviewing the Committee's report, the Vice President for Finance will send the report to the appropriate Vice President or Dean for action, which may include, as appropriate, the disciplining of employees involved. The expectation is that serious consideration will be given to the Committee's findings and recommendations, and that the Vice President for Finance will be informed of the implementation of the Committee's recommendations.

For more detailed information about the University Accident Review Committee, please refer to the Office of Risk Management's web site www.virginia.edu/riskmanagement and click onto the link for the University Accident Review Committee, or you may access this information under the Organization & Committees section on the Vice President for Finance's web site www.virginia.edu/vpfinance. You may also contact the Committee's current chair, Rick Schupp, with any questions. Please communicate this information to anyone in your operation who might possibly drive University owned vehicles or supervise those who do.

Committee Members:

Rick Schupp, Risk Management, Chair
Boyd Anderson, Facilities Management
Quenton Trice, University Police
David Kloss, Parking & Transportation
Donna Redmond, Medical Center Transportation & Distribution Service
Debbie Hinton (ex officio), Risk Management

Purpose:

This document describes the general responsibilities of the University Accident Review Committee and the responsibilities of the University community in complying with the Provisions of Section 52-4, of the Code of Virginia, of 1950 as Amended, Memo-2001-No. 10. This program is established to emphasize the importance of safe driving, to develop a sense of responsibility among all employees in the operation of state-owned vehicles, and to create an awareness of the need to drive defensively at all times.

Accident Committee Structure and Guidelines:

The Accident Review Committee, appointed by the Vice President for Finance, shall be comprised of at least three members of the University community, one of which will serve as Chairperson, and the Committee shall meet monthly, or as needed, to evaluate each crash in which an agency-owned vehicle is involved.

The Committee will meet at the Chairperson's call, whenever the review of an accident involving an agency-owned vehicle requires the Committee's review.

The Chairperson will coordinate the convening of the Accident Review Committee, including the attendance of the driver and witnesses, if necessary. Drivers will be notified of the time and place that the Committee will meet to review their accident. And they will be permitted to attend the discussion on their particular accident if they choose to do so, or to submit a written statement, which they would like the Committee to consider during their review.

The Office of Risk Management will provide the Committee with the available information and documentation on all accidents involving agency-owned vehicles reported to Risk Management in the period prior to the Committee meeting.

After thoroughly reviewing all of the material concerning each crash, the Review Committee shall evaluate each crash as Preventable, Not Preventable, or Incidental based upon the following criteria:

1. It shall be considered a Preventable crash when the operator of the state-owned vehicle is found to have been guilty of contributory negligence.

2. The crash shall be considered Not Preventable when it has been determined that the operator of the state-owned vehicle did not contribute to the crash.

3. Those cases resulting from natural forces, from acts by other than human sources, from a deliberate act (e.g., vandalism), from a non-perceivable object, or while the vehicle is properly parked shall be classified as an incident and not considered as crashes in the safety program.

The Committee hereby delegates to the Chair the authority to determine, in conjunction with advice from the Risk Management claims staff, whether a particular accident clearly falls into the category of being "incidental, non-preventable, or preventable." Those accidents deemed to possibly fall into the "preventable" category will be referred to the Committee, which, after thoroughly reviewing each accident, will make recommendations to the Vice President for Finance when, in the Committee's judgment, some action is warranted.

The Committee hereby delegates to the Parking and Transportation Department's University Transit Service Division the authority to evaluate and determine whether bus and other associated vehicle accidents fall into the category of being "incidental" or "non-preventable" for those accidents involving Parking & Transportation's State owned vehicles. It is understood that the means by which this will be done is via the accident review process of the University Transit Service Division's Safety Committee. This delegation of authority is limited to accidents involving property damage amounting to less than $3000, and copies of the Safety Committee's findings will be sent to the University's Accident Committee. The University Transit Service Safety Committee will also review accidents involving property damage amounting to more than $3000 or involving bodily injury situations; however, the results of their review will be forwarded to the University's Accident Committee to be taken into account during its evaluation prior to submitting a final report to the Vice President for Finance.

Based on conditions reported by the Department of State Police or police department of any state college, university or community college subsequent to the investigation of an accident, upon reviewing the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles or upon recommendations made by the Uniform Accident Preventions Review Committee if the state vehicle involved was owned by the Office of Fleet Management Services, the right of an employee to operate a state-owned motor vehicle may be suspended, upon the decision of the Agency Head or his designated representative (Vice President for Finance). After conducting an accident review, if the University's Accident Review Committee plans to make a recommendation to suspend an employee's privileges to drive a state vehicle, HR Employee Relations and the General Counsel's Office will review the Committee's recommendation prior to its submission to the Vice President for Finance. The Office of Risk Management will maintain a list of individuals with suspended driving privileges.

The Accident Review Committee will review compliance with Procedure 7-81, Completing Automobile Loss Notice, and Policy 2.4.1. Failure to make reports as required by both Procedure 7.81 and Policy 2.4.1, or failure to cooperate with the Office of Risk Management's investigation, shall be reported to the Vice President for Finance with its recommendations accordingly, and handled in accordance with the Standards of Conduct.

Accident Reporting and Investigation Requirements-

The effectiveness of an Accident Prevention and Safety Program is dependent on a complete and impartial investigation of each crash so that a thorough evaluation can be made as to the causative factors. The prompt reporting of a crash to the Department of State Police or the University Police Department, if the crash occurs on grounds, while the vehicle is at the crash scene is imperative to the success of this program.

Whenever a traffic crash occurs involving a state-owned motor vehicle, the operator or a representative of the agency owning or using the vehicle shall immediately report the crash to the Department of State Police or the University Police Department, if the crash occurs on grounds, while the vehicle is at the crash scene. The Department of State Police or the University Police Department shall investigate all traffic crashes involving licensed state-owned vehicles or crashes involving non-licensed state-owned vehicles where a licensed vehicle is also involved, except:

Crashes in which the vehicle has been removed from the scene, unless the crash is the result of a hit and run or personal injury is involved. (This does not include when a vehicle is moved from the highway as a safety precaution.)

Damage to a vehicle is discovered after the fact, other than damage resulting from a hit and run crash.

Whenever a traffic crash involving a state-owned vehicle occurs in another State or the District of Columbia, the operator shall report the crash to the State Police, Highway Patrol, or local police department having jurisdiction. The operator of the State-owned vehicle shall obtain information from the investigating officer as to how to obtain a copy of the accident report and the name, address and policy number of insurers of other involved vehicles.

Such information shall be provided to the operator's immediate supervisor upon return to the state. The operator shall obtain copies of the accident report and forward such report through his/her immediate supervisor to the Department of State Police.

All traffic crashes involving state-owned vehicles not required to be reported to the Department of State Police or police department of any state college, university or community college shall be reported to the involved operator's supervisor immediately.

In those cases where it has been determined that the cause of a crash involving a state-owned motor vehicle was due to either negligence or gross negligence on the part of the state operator, or other safety related concerns are found to be present, at the discretion of the appropriate vice president specific actions may be taken against the employee under the Standards of Conduct.

Where the operator of a University-owned vehicle is determined by the State, local, or University Police or the Committee to have been grossly negligent in the vehicle's operation (i.e., operating a vehicle with reckless disregard of the consequences as affecting the life or property of another.), the Committee may recommend that the appropriate vice president require the operator to pay the first $100 of the cost to repair the damage of the University-owned vehicle. (Per Department of State Police Memo-2001-No.10)

Where the operator of a University-owned vehicle is determined by the State, local, or University Police or the Committee to have used the vehicle for an unauthorized purpose, the Committee may recommend that the appropriate vice president require the operator to pay the entire cost of repairing any damage the vehicle has sustained. (Per Department of State Police Memo-2001-No. 10)

Where the operator of a University-owned vehicle is determined by the State, local, or University Police or the Committee to have failed to immediately report the crash to the appropriate State, local, or University Police, and /or failed to complete and submit an Auto Loss Notice to the Office of Risk Management within 24 hours of the accident, and/or failed to cooperate with the Office of Risk Management's investigation of the accident, the appropriate vice president will be notified.

Where the Committee identifies other remedial action that might be taken (training, vehicle modifications, etc.), it may make such recommendations to the appropriate vice president.

The Risk Management Office will retain records of the activities of the Accident Review Committee. The driver may appeal the decision of the Accident Committee by providing a written statement to the Chairperson of the Committee with the reasons why he or she thinks the Committee's decision should be changed. If the driver is not satisfied with the Chairperson's decision in response to the appeal, then he or she may appeal the decision to the Vice President for Finance, who may elect to have the Virginia State Police review the accident and provide their recommendations (per VSP Memo-2001-No.10 Revised-section VI) before making a final decision regarding the appeal.

Outline of Responsibilities by Category:

Vehicle Operator

1. Follow Procedure 7-81- Completing Automobile Loss Notice.
2. Cooperate fully in the investigation of the accident by the Office of Risk Management and the Accident Review Committee by providing all requested information and documentation, and, if requested to do so, appearing before the Committee.
3. Comply with recommendations of the Accident Review Committee and the Vice President for Finance.
4. If required to take the 3-D driver training conducted by P&T, the driver should contact P&T Operations (924-7711) to be scheduled for the next class, and provide them with the proper PTAO that should be billed for the class.

Office of Risk Management

1. Serve as the coordinator for the Accident Review Committee.
2. Arrange for the Vice President of Finance to appoint the Chairperson and members of the Committee.
3. Provide the Committee with the available information and documentation on all accidents involving agency-owned vehicles reported to the Office of Risk Management in the period prior to the Committee meeting.
4. Maintain the records of Committee decisions regarding evaluation of Preventable, Not-Preventable, and Incidental occurrences as part of the record of each individual crash as required, and which is to be reported to the Department of State Police per Memo-2001-No. 10 referencing Section 52-4 of the Code of Virginia of 1950 as amended. The Interdepartmental Safety Program.
5. Maintain records of drivers involved in accidents, including revocation of driving privileges.

Accident Review Committee

1. Be comprised of at least 3 members of the University community, with one member appointed as Chairperson.
2. Meet periodically to review agency-owned vehicle accidents reported to the Office of Risk Management. The Committee will review all available information and, if desired, will interview the operator and witnesses. All drivers will be sent an invitation to attend the Accident Review Committee or, if desired, to submit a written statement not less than one week prior to the Committee meeting.
3. After thoroughly reviewing an accident, will make such recommendations to the Vice President for Finance as the Committee thinks is appropriate.

Vice President for Finance

1. Review the recommendations of the Accident Review Committee and any supporting documentation.
2. Determine whether the Committee's recommendations seem appropriate for the situation under review.
3. Upon receiving the Accident Review Committee's recommendations, communicate the Committee's recommendations to the employee through his or her vice president, vice provost, or dean.

Human Resources Department

1. Provide employee relations advice to the Committee upon request regarding recommendations the Committee desires to make to his or her respective vice president.

Parking and Transportation Department (UTS Division)

1. Provide 3-D (Defense, Decisive, and Dependable) driver training and certification of completion to requesting students and employees who have received notification of the need to complete training as a result of an accident review.
2. Secure payment for the cost of the training from the student or employee's department via the responsible department's PTAO.
3. The P&T Safety Committee will have delegated authority to review all accidents involving property damage amounting to less than $3000 for those accidents involving Parking & Transportation's buses and associated vehicles, but a copy of their report will be sent to the University's Accident Committee, which will indicate how the accident was categorized. Likewise, the Safety Committee will review accidents amounting to more than $3000 of property damage and those involving bodily injury, but the findings will be sent to the University's Accident Committee for review and modification, as the Committee deems appropriate.

Vice President/Vice Provost/Dean

1. Communicate the Accident Committee's recommendations to the employee and ensure compliance. If there is some question or concern, contact the Vice President for Finance or the Chair of the Accident Committee to discuss the issue.
2. Communicate back to the Vice President for Finance what action has been taken pertaining to the Committee's recommendations.