Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
FDNY Charging For Car Accident Help
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 10, 2010
Modified Dec 10, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 10, 2010
Modified Dec 10, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Times are tough all over, even at the historically high-tone FDNY, where the fire poles are coated with gold, and all hoses spray Veuve Clicquot. To cope with the grinding budget crunch, the department has announced that starting in July it will start charging drivers $490 to respond to a crash or car fire involving injuries, $415 for a car fire without injuries and $365 for a basic crash without injuries. These charges will apply to every driver involved in the incident. What's next, charging fifty bucks to kiss the Dalmatian?
"We are in a tight budget situation," FDNY spokesman Steve Ritea tells the Daily News. "We wanted to relieve pressure on the taxpayer and place it on those at fault and their insurance companies. If there's an act of God, if a tree falls on your car, the Fire Department has discretion. The intent here is to go after the insurance of motorists who are at fault." Of course, there is a slight chance that the insurance companies might catch on to this and pass these costs onto motorists. "If insurers were to start providing coverage for additional accident response services, including police and fire, the cost of auto insurance would be likely to increase," predicts Loretta Worters of the Insurance Information Institute.
The FDNY's new policy follows in the footsteps other municipalities across the country which are charging drivers for emergency assistance, and even charging homeowners when they put out fires. The FDNY spokesman says the department isn't "currently" considering going that far. The city will also start charging private hospitals as much as $1 million a year for hospital ambulances dispatched by the city's 911 system, the Journal reports. At a press conference yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg showed his willingness to play hardball with the hospitals, telling reporters, "They like these ambulances to pick up patients because that's the way they fill the beds. If they don't want to have the patients in their hospitals, they won't get 'em."
A spokesman for AAA called the calls the crash tax "short-sighted," telling the Journal, "We have concerns that some motorists might be less likely to call police to crash scenes, allowing drunk drivers, uninsured drivers, drivers with suspended licenses, and others to go undetected." But the best quote comes from Queens resident Homer J. Simpson Barret Ramnath, who declares, "That sucks. Accidents happen, and you can't be held responsible."
Tagged
Accident Tax
budget crunch
crash tax
fdny
hard times
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .