New Hampshire

Bill Returns Power to NH Police to Share Accident Reports

A dispute over whether local police or the Department of Motor Vehicles controls access to vehicle accident reports from New Hampshire appears to have reached a resolution.

Drivers involved in accidents must provide each other with their names, addresses, license plate and registration numbers and the names and addresses of occupants in the cars. Local police departments that collect the information have long provided it to the parties involved if need be.

But the Department of Safety recently told local departments to stop, based on a new interpretation of the 1996-passed Driver Privacy Act. It said only the DMV could hand out those reports.

A Senate policy committee backed a legislative fix Tuesday that clarifies that local police departments can share the information. It now heads to the full Senate.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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