All accident reports and supplemental reports required by law to be made by any driver, owner, or person involved in any accident shall be without prejudice to the individual so reporting and shall be for the confidential use of the department; except that the department may disclose the identity of a person involved in an accident when such identity is not otherwise known or when such person denies his or her presence at such accident. Except as provided in section 42-7-504 (2), no such report shall be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal, arising out of an accident; except that the department shall furnish, upon demand of any person who has, or claims to have, made such a report or upon demand of any court, a certificate showing that a specified accident report has or has not been made to the department solely to prove a compliance or failure to comply with the requirement that such a report be made to the department. This section shall not be construed to mean that reports of investigation or other reports made by sheriffs, police officers, coroners, or other peace officers shall be confidential, but the same shall be public records and shall be subject to the

reports of investigation or other reports made by sheriffs, police officers, coroners, or other peace officers shall be confidential, but the same shall be public records and shall be subject to the provisions of section 42-1-206.L. 94: Entire title amended with relocations, p. 2403, § 1, effective 1/1/1995.This section is similar to former § 42-4-1410 as it existed prior to 1994, and the former § 42-4-1610 was relocated to § 42-4-1810.