Most people would agree that if you witness a traffic accident that could be serious, the right thing to do is to call 911. But, recently people involved in these accidents have discovered that they're being billed for the services of the police and fire units that respond to the emergency.
For those whose Illinois car accidents turned out to be minor and who did not call for assistance themselves, this "crash tax" seems like an unfair money grab by the city, afterall, it is a service that they did not ask for. But, municipalities view the crash tax as a necessary way to pay for their emergency responders.
Who Pays for First Responders?
When an ambulance is called in an emergency, the cost is routinely added to the patient's medical bill, and such charges are generally paid by the insurance company. Some other emergency services provided by other first responders are also often covered by medical or auto insurance. But when insurance companies elect not to pay for crash tax services, the people involved in the accident who get the bill - even if they didn't call for the emergency services in the first place.
Critics of a crash tax say that it's double taxation - people pay for these city services once through property taxes and then again when they actually use them. Regardless of where a crash occurs, it's assumed that everyone is funding emergency services wherever they live for both locals and those just passing through.
But, cities near interstate highways say they spend a disproportionate amount of their emergency response budget responding to car accidents involving people from out of town. These cities use the crash tax to spread out the burden, otherwise carried only by its citizens, of those who do not contribute to funding the emergency response infrastructure.
Reactions to Implementation of Crash Taxes Across the U.S.
Thirteen states have enacted bans on crash taxes. Such bans typically allow cities to continue to charge for certain services, such as charging at-fault drivers for towing costs and cleanup of debris, or charging for hazardous materials cleanup but limit other accident response fees.
Illinois is not one of the states that have banned a crash tax. Many towns and cities throughout the state have responded by enacting some form of a crash tax. Typical fees in Illinois range from $100 to $300 per vehicle and $35 to $70 per hour for personnel.
Critics of crash taxes say that if they become commonplace, people will avoid calling 911 in the event of an emergency, which will ultimately lead to tragic outcomes and increased medical costs.
