Riverside County car accidents may soon cost drivers who are at fault. They may have to pay the costs of dispatched firefighters and paramedics to accident scenes. In California, 57 cities, counties and fire districts have similar car crash taxes. Riverside County’s car accident tax is a potential strategy to balance its books in the middle of a stubborn recession.
Currently, Riverside County’s Fire Department budget has a $4 million deficit, and fire stations may close if officials fail to plug the gap. “I think we’re leaving millions of dollars on the table,” said Supervisor Jeff Stone of Temecula. Fire Chief John Hawkins told the Board of Supervisors that he would look into the idea and report back in a month.
Opposition to the Riverside Car Accident Tax
However, Sam Sorich, president of the Sacramento-based Association of California Insurance Companies, which represents underwriters of half the state’s car insurance policies, opposes the car crash tax. “This is a government service that should be paid for by taxes. You’re really forcing people to pay for these services twice.”
Sorich added that in a majority of cases, insurance policies don’t cover such fees. “Proposals like this are somewhat misleading, because they are sold with the idea that insurance policies are going to pay for these fees,” he said. “The standard policy does not pay for a fireman to come to the scene of an accident.”
Concern about the proliferation of accident response fees has spurred a state lawmaker to introduce legislation, Senate Bill 49, to make such charges illegal. Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Moorpark, said “crash taxes” are unfair to people who travel outside their hometowns.
Call a Riverside Car Accident Lawyer
Regardless of where you stand on this proposed tax, there’s no question that car accidents can cost you an enormous amount of money, even if you’re not at fault, Without a good car accident lawyer, a crash can cost you money for medical bills, lost wages, not to mention, the additional pain and suffering.
These are all good reasons to contact a car accident firm. Our Riverside car accident attorneys are skilled and experienced in getting you the compensation that you deserve under the law. Call 1-877-702-7274 to speak to a Riverside car accident lawyer today.
