Car accidents on S. Mission Street will not end anytime soon.

But obtaining a report is not too difficult these days.

The Central Michigan University Police Department, Mount Pleasant Police Department and Isabella County Sheriff’s Department use TRACView, an Internet traffic accident report application.

Nationwide, 341 police agencies, many in Michigan and Illinois, use the application. TRACView originated in Lansing.

One of the main advantages with the online service is time, said CMU Police Chief Bill Yeagley.

“It makes it easier for the customer,” he said. “Instead of coming in and getting a hard copy, they can get it online.”

The CMU Police Department is the most recent agency to obtain the service, having done so in 2006.

The reports are available 24 hours a day and see a lot of use from insurance companies. Customers can purchase their accident report online for $10.

The benefits

Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said the application does not cost the department any money and is easy to use.

“We just scan both sides of the report and put it online,” he said.

Service costs are handled by a convenience fee that insurance companies and individuals pay to TRACView when they buy a report.

The MPPD has used the service since 2004. The majority of reports are purchased by the insurance companies, said Public Information Officer Dave Sabuda.

Private citizens do not have to worry about privacy issues with the application, he said. It utilizes firewall, session time outs and IP address monitoring.

“There are some security measures with it,” Sabuda said. “For someone to get information on our accident report, they need to have specific info.”

In the case of Mount Pleasant and the campus community, the system can prove beneficial for college students, he said. Not only can a student easily gain access to a report, but their parents can from home as well.

Mioduszewski said his office has used TRACView for the last six or seven years and plans to continue using it.

“It’s really just made things easier for us and everyone else,” he said.

E-mail the author: Jake Bolitho