# Is there any way for the public to find information on specific past traffic collisions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 29, 2024, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-the-public-to-find-information-on-specific-past-traffic-collisions/1003480 "2024-06-29T05:02:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-the-public-to-find-information-on-specific-past-traffic-collisions/1003480/1 "2024-06-29T05:02:59Z")
Friends of mine were in a horrific crash in 2022, in Cocoa, Florida. Thankfully, they are now doing amazingly well given the severity of their injuries. I recently visited them and heard some of the details of the collision, after asking politely and making it clear that they were under no obligation to satisfy my curiosity if talking about what happened was in any way traumatic, tiresome, or an unwelcome request for any reason. Anyway, the husband was willing to talk about what happened so I now know some significant details such as the make of the car they were driving, the driver/passenger count in the other vehicle, etc. But I’m still curious about a few things, and there is absolutely no way I will ever pester them again with any questions related to the crash unless it is to ask how their rehabilitation is progressing. I suppose it is ghoulish, but … Are details of such events a matter of public record and if so how would I find out more? I can narrow the date down to a range of a couple of months and I know enough details that if I read through several reports I would easily identify which crash was the one they were involved in. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-the-public-to-find-information-on-specific-past-traffic-collisions/1003480/2 "2024-06-29T05:57:05Z")
Well, the answer is probably mostly yes, with some caveats… > **[Are Florida Police Reports Public Record? - Florida Law Enforcement Tribute](https://floridalel.org/are-florida-police-reports-public-record/)** > > Yes. Florida police reports are considered public records. Under Florida law, any record made or received in connection with the transaction of official business is a public record subject to disclosure unless there is a specific statutory exemption... Indicates that if there was a police report (which I’d expect based on the severity you mention) you could probably get a lot of details, although limited to the incident and any investigation done by the cops. Although, since you’re lacking a lot of details, they may need to do a pretty wide search based on the information. And historically, requesting such things was not free - years back when I was an adjuster for auto claims in California, those costs were non-trivial, and if you were doing a brute force search of dozens of records, I bet it would get pricey fast. [https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/OGC/Public-Records.aspx](https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/OGC/Public-Records.aspx) Would probably be a good place to start. ETA - I responded prior to the move to FQ, but I think I’m within the expected bounds. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-the-public-to-find-information-on-specific-past-traffic-collisions/1003480/3 "2024-06-29T05:58:02Z")
Moved to FQ per OP’s request (was accidentally posted to MPSIMS). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-the-public-to-find-information-on-specific-past-traffic-collisions/1003480/4 "2024-06-29T10:36:21Z")
I live in Florida. Records are quite open. Finding them is the harder part. If you know the address, cross streets, etc., where it occurred I’d start with the police agency that services that location. Might be a city police department, might be a county sheriff’s office. If it was on the open highway it’d probably be the Florida Highway patrol which is a division of the FDLE cited by @ParallelLines. Or it may be the county sheriff’s office. By starting with the smallest agency you’re looking at the fewest records per date. So although you’re looking for a needle, the haystack isn’t quite so big. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-the-public-to-find-information-on-specific-past-traffic-collisions/1003480/5 "2024-06-29T15:40:18Z")
Good follow up by @LSLGuy! Their strategy will likely result in lowest investigation costs, depending on the who / what / when / where that you already have. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-the-public-to-find-information-on-specific-past-traffic-collisions/1003480/6 "2024-06-29T17:43:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I live in Florida. Records are quite open. Finding them is the harder part. If you know the address, cross streets, etc., where it occurred I’d start with the police agency that services that location. Might be a city police department, might be a county sheriff’s office. If it was on the open highway it’d probably be the Florida Highway patrol which is a division of the FDLE cited by @ParallelLines. Or it may be the county sheriff’s office. > > By starting with the smallest agency you’re looking at the fewest records per date. So although you’re looking for a needle, the haystack isn’t quite so big. From my understanding Florida has the most open records of any state. It should be possible to find an accident report pretty easily. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-the-public-to-find-information-on-specific-past-traffic-collisions/1003480/7 "2024-06-29T18:26:43Z")
Thanks everyone. I was wondering if the fact that the crash happened in Florida might matter; seems that is the case. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-the-public-to-find-information-on-specific-past-traffic-collisions/1003480/8 "2024-06-29T18:36:34Z")
All 50 states have some form of an open public records act. Some are easier than others to navigate through. Florida is supposed to be the easiest. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-the-public-to-find-information-on-specific-past-traffic-collisions/1003480/9 "2024-06-29T18:41:43Z")
Which has a lot to do with how those “Florida man does crazy shit … again” websites get their material. Floridiots aren’t notably wackier than idjits elsewhere. But all the official records of their antics are available to download for free and with no copyright protection.