Legal Question in Traffic Law in California

Accident on private road

I live in a private gated

community in Riverside

County. I understand that

collisions which occur on

private private property are not

responded to by police,

however does that also apply to

private roadways? A number of

residents in the community are

receiving conflicting

information concerning this.

We have a private security

firm, however they do not take

accident reports. The sheriff's

dept. has stated that they are

not required to respond to or

write a report on accidents

occuring insinde the gates.

This has of course created a

number of problems when

trying to file insurance claims.

I'm trying to research the issue

(I'm a reporter for the local

paper) but don't even know

where to start - I've tried

talking with our police

department, but they are only

providing me with vague

information that doesn't

answer the issue. What

specifically is the law regarding

this? One recent accident sent

a man to the hospital, yet the

police refused to take a report.


Asked on 5/25/07, 12:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

Re: Accident on private road

The lack of a police report isn't that much of a hindrance to an experienced attorney in a bodily injury case. After all, the police officers usually don't witness the accident. They can take photos, but the parties to the accident can do that. If one of the drivers is DUI, they can arrest him, I suppose, but assuming you have photos and a hospital bill, I'm not sure why you believe an attorney would be hindered in his or her ability to pursue the claim.

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Answered on 5/30/07, 6:17 pm


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