Motorists who meet with an accident and need the help of FDNY should now be expecting a bill. Under serious concerns relating to the budget, FDNY has decided to go along with an increasing number of municipalities across the country, which charge motorists that meet with accidents and avail the emergency services of FDNY. The bills will be sent starting July 1st. Also known as accident tax or crash tax, this bill has left a lot of people across the country furious. In fact, some states have banned the practice too. According to a statement released by the FDNY, it can no longer bear the burden of emergency services of motorists.
There is still some confusion over these proposed changes. It is also expected that it is the insurance companies who should take responsibility of the bill instead of the FDNY charging the motorists for the same. However, it is highly unlikely that the bills could be charged to the auto insurance companies. According to experts of auto insurance, the charges of the fire department for responding to vehicle crashes will not be covered by the insurance companies, except in certain scenarios. The support for and against the fees is also divided. While some feel it is imperative that the motorists have to eventually pay for the services that they get in case of an emergency, others feel it represents the inadequacy of the government. This is because ideally such services need to be paid out from the taxes paid by citizens. This means that the budget, taxes and expenditure are not being balanced properly by the government. A lot of people feel these services have to be free like they always have been.
Meanwhile FDNY feels that taxpayers should be relieved of the fault of someone else. The charges of the emergency services have to be paid for the insurance companies or by the motorists who are responsible for the accident. The bill is supposed to include instructions that will inform motorists that they can refer the same bill to their insurance company. There is a chance of discretion too if no one needs medical assistance and there is no fire either. As many as 14,000 cases of vehicle accidents were attended to by the fire department last year where 2900 accidents involved fire and as many as 7500 accidents involved injuries. Fire departments in other cities too are having similar considerations.
