A recent study by the Sacramento Bee shows that California lawmakers filed 122 car accident claims, which cost taxpayers more than $768,000. Of the 122 car accident claims, that lawmakers filed from 2006 through 2010, 59 were “collisions.”
Among state-issued vehicles, that’s about 11 collision claims each year per 100 vehicles.
According to Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president at the Highway Loss Data Institute, the national average for collision claims in 2008-10 was 7.5 per 100 passenger cars each year and 6.1 per 100 SUVs each year.
More Car Accident Statistics
About half of the 122 car accident claims filed by lawmakers between January 2006 and the end of 2010 involved cracked windshields, damage from roadway debris, random acts of vandalism and some quirky incidents. Here are some of the car accident claims that Californians are paying for:
- Sen. Doug LaMalfa billed the state $1,317.12 for hitting a raccoon with his state-issued car.
- Former Assemblywoman Mary Salas drove her state car into a post on one trip, into a concrete guardrail on another and later ran a red light, hitting a vehicle. Her four claims cost nearly $28,000.
- Assemblyman Cameron Smyth and Sen. Mimi Walters, meanwhile, each filed claims for hitting their personal vehicles with their state-issued cars.
- LaMalfa, R-Richvale, remembers well the day in 2007 when he clipped a raccoon with his state-issued Mustang in rural Glenn County, causing $1,317 in damage.
- The state paid claims of $19,037 in 2006 after Maria Robles, wife of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, rear-ended another car in Núñez’s state-issued car, causing injury.
- The son of former Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, drove her car into oncoming traffic in 2006, causing an accident and $22,546.52 in damages. Garcia told the Orange County Register that her son was sick and she could not drive him home from the Capitol, where he was attending a ceremony with her.
- The wife of Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, was driving him to an airport in the state-issued car and hit a disabled vehicle, causing a $32,678 claim.
- Migden and Salas, D-San Diego, and 18 other lawmakers filed multiple claims, with nine filing three claims or more.
- Former Assemblymen Rick Keene and Anthony Adams each had three accidents in less than 18 months. Adams, R-Hesperia, hit a wall, a curb and rear-ended another vehicle. Keene, R-Chico, backed into an object, hit something in a parking lot and rear-ended another driver.
Car Accident Claims, How Much Do Lawmakers Pay?
Lawmakers are required to carry their own liability insurance for the personal use of the cars, but the state paid three claims over the past five years that involved relatives of legislators driving the state car.
They drive a wide range of vehicles, most costing between $30,000 and $40,000. The public subsidy for a lease is capped at a monthly sum that varies (depending on the lease), but typically is $287 in the Assembly and $282 in the Senate.
Lawmakers pick up 28 percent of the lease cost of each vehicle, plus any amount above the monthly cap. Taxpayers, however, pay the other costs, including claim damages, because the state is self-insured.
The Best California Car Accident Lawyers
While state lawmakers have a good deal going, the rest of us are not so fortunate. If you are involved in a car accident that is not your fault, the state is not there to defend you or pay for the damages. If you, or a loved one, is involved in a car accident, please call 877-702-7274 to speak to an expert car accident attorney today.
