Report of accident required – Suspension of registration or operating privileges for failure to report – Restoration – Access to information

(a) Ask an insurance law question, get an answer ASAP!(A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101License: means any license, temporary instruction permit, or temporary license issued under the laws of this state, or any other state, pertaining to the licensing of persons to operate motor vehicles within this state. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102Motor vehicle: means every self-propelled vehicle that is designed for use upon the highway, including trailers and semitrailers designed for use with motor vehicles, and every vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead wires but not operated upon rails, except traction engines, road rollers and farm tractors. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102Nonresident: means every person who is not a resident of this state. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102Operator: means : (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle whether or not licensed as an operator or chauffeur under the laws of this state. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a motor vehicle, or in the event a motor vehicle is the subject of an agreement for the conditional sale or lease thereof with the right of purchase upon performance of the conditions stated in the agreement and with an immediate right of possession vested in the conditional vendee or lessee, or in the event a mortgagor of a vehicle is entitled to possession, then the conditional vendee, lessee or mortgagor shall be deemed the owner for the purpose of this part. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Registration: means a registration certificate or certificates and registration plates issued under the laws of this state pertaining to the registration of motor vehicles. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102State: means any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any province of the Dominion of Canada. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105(1) The operator of a motor vehicle that is in any manner involved in an accident within this state in which any person is killed or injured, or in which damage to the property of any one (1) person, including the operator, in excess of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) is sustained, shall report the matter in writing to the commissioner within twenty (20) days after the occurrence of the accident. If the operator fails or is physically incapable of making the report, the owner of the motor vehicle involved in the accident shall, upon learning of the accident, report the matter in writing to the commissioner. The operator or the owner shall make other and additional reports relating to the accident as the commissioner shall require. (2) If an accident results in damage to state or local government property in excess of four hundred dollars ($400), then the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident shall file a written report in accordance with subdivision (a)(1). (b) The form of the accident report required under this section shall contain information sufficient to enable the commissioner to determine whether the requirements for the deposit of security under this part are inapplicable by reason of the existence of insurance or other exceptions specified in this part. The commissioner may rely upon the accuracy of the information, unless and until there is reason to believe that the information is erroneous. (c) If a report of the accident is not received by the commissioner of safety within twenty (20) days, as required by subsection (a), the commissioner may issue a notice of suspension of the operator’s license and, immediately upon request by the commissioner of safety, the commissioner of revenue shall issue a notice of suspension of the registration of the motor vehicle involved. Notices of the suspension of the operator’s license and the motor vehicle’s registration shall be sent by United States mail not less than twenty (20) days prior to the effective date of suspension. Each notice shall state that the vehicle’s operator or owner, or both, are entitled to an administrative hearing held by the commissioner of safety, or the commissioner’s delegate, pursuant to a reques