Nashville police will likely no longer respond to minor car crashes

Motorists involved in minor car accidents in Nashville will no longer likely see police officers at the crash scene.

That’s because earlier this month, the Metro Nashville Department of Emergency Communications discontinued dispatching officers to fender-bender accidents that only result in property damage.

“At peak times calls are prioritized,” Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said Friday. “A fender bender is a lower priority call.”

Stephen Martini, Metro Nashville Department of Emergency Communications director, said the change came at the request of the police department.

Several exceptions to the change that went into effect April 12 include:

› A party insists on a police response.

› A vehicle is disabled in the roadway.

› The property damage only crash involves a hit-and-run.

› There is a heated argument or fight between the parties.

Aaron said officers will always be dispatched to crashes involving injury or death or impaired drivers.

“If a citizen is insistent on an officer responding, one is to be sent, with the caveat that during peak times, the wait time may be long,” Aaron said. “It is preferred that drivers involved in property-damageonly fender-bender-type accidents amicably exchange information, take cell phone photos, and share the information with their respective insurance companies as applicable.

Those measures save parties from having to wait for a police officer response, which can be lengthy, particularly during peak call times, Aaron said. Crimes in progress and crashes with injuries will always be a higher priority than property damage crashes.

The goal is for the city’s precinct-based police officers to be more readily available to respond to higher priority calls as well as proactively address neighborhood public safety, Aaron said. At the same time, amicable parties to these minor accidents are not waiting for a police officer unnecessarily.

In the two weeks prior to April 12, MNPD officers responded to 1,385 property damage crashes. In the two weeks since April 12, officers responded to 820 property damage crashes, a 41% reduction.