Brantford driver surprised by post-crash fire truck bill
TORONTO - Brantford resident Kevin Maguire was on his way to a business meeting in Mississauga in April when everything went pear-shaped.
It was a bright, sunny day. The weather was good and everything was going well.
Travelling east, he stopped at the traffic light at the intersection of Dixie Rd. and Eastgate Dr.
When the light turned green, he pulled into the intersection — and a car travelling south on Dixie blew through a red light and hit his Lincoln Navigator on the driver’s side — causing an estimated $20,000 damage.
The other person’s car flipped, rolled, slid onto the roof and hit a school bus.
Police and fire trucks arrived — although Maguire didn’t need assistance and wasn’t injured.
Apart from the headaches of sorting through the insurance fine print, Maguire thought everything was dealt with.
Then he got a bill for $277.30 from the City of Mississauga — for sending a fire truck.
This seems a bit rich to Maguire, given that he wasn’t at fault in the accident.
“I was blown away!” he told me by e-mail.
“I couldn’t believe that they could do such a thing ... what are our taxes for?”
Maguire called the City of Mississauga and was told that as a, “non-resident” he didn’t pay taxes in that city and therefore was not entitled to have fire and emergency services paid for by the city.
“I was wondering what country I lived in,” he said.
Maguire was raised in Mississauga. Four of his five children were born in that city.
“Mississauga brags about the fact they’re the only city in Canada that’s not in debt — and now I know why,” he said. “The worst part is that none of it was my fault. The guy who caused the accident of course doesn’t get a bill — because he lives in Mississauga.”
Mississauga is just one of many Ontario municipalities that charge a fee when fire trucks show up at an accident.
So-called “crash taxes” or accident response fees have been around for years but continue to spread across Ontario and North America as cash-strapped look to find new ways to generate revenue.
When Burlington instituted accident fees in 2010, that city’s fire department surveyed 80 Ontario municipalities and found 46 billed non-residents.
That list includes Brampton, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Mississauga, North Bay, Oakville, Pickering, Sarnia and Toronto.
Another 21 billed both residents and non-residents including Barrie, Haliburton, Markham, Richmond Hill, Timmins, Vaughan and Welland.
And just 16 didn’t bill at all, including Belleville, Brantford, Cobourg, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Oshawa, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Thunder Bay, Whitby and Windsor.
Some also charge for costs to clean up the accident, the absorbent for spilled fuel, foam to put out gas or oil fires and split that bill equally among the parties to the accident.
Maguire’s insurance company told him they’d never seen such a charge and he’s waiting to see if it’s covered.
However, under Ontario law Ontario’s Automobile Policy insurance carriers are required to “pay general average, salvage and fire department charges and any Canadian or U.S. customs duties for which you [the insured] are legally responsible as a result of an insured peril.”
A spokesman for Mississauga Fire said it’s common practice to charge out-of-town drivers for costs associated with fire and emergency services at accidents.
“It’s not new and it’s not isolated to Mississauga,” said deputy Chief Kevin Duffy. “It’s very common.”
Duffy said the fire department doesn’t get access to police reports related to accidents, so they have no idea who’s to blame for the accident.
“Most of it gets sorted out through the insurance company,” he said.
With no-fault insurance, though, often the driver who’s not at fault ends up paying for services.
“From our perspective, it’s the cost of running the business that a non-resident isn’t supporting,” Duffy said.
The City of Toronto and Toronto Fire Services (TFS) bills non-residents involved in motor vehicle accidents, regardless of fault attributed as a result of the accident.
“The fee of $410 per TFS vehicle dispatched, is based on the current Ministry of Transportation rate and divided by the number of vehicles involved in the accident,” said Toronto Fire Division Chief Toni Vigna. “Generally, no fees are applied if injuries or fatalities are sustained.”
Well, that’s nice of them.
Otherwise, though, it’s a rip-off.
We all pay taxes. This is a mobile society. Wouldn’t it make more sense for municipalities to have reciprocal arrangements so if one of their residents is in an out-of-town accident, they’re covered right across the province?
We’re not talking about crossing international boundaries or even moving to another province. Should you be dinged for these extra costs just because you’re unlucky enough to be caught in a traffic accident across a city line?
So a word to the wise.
If you’re taking a drive today and crossing city boundaries — watch out.
If you get into an accident and a fire truck shows up, watch you don’t get burned by the bill.
Brantford driver surprised by post-crash fire truck bill | Ontario | News | Toronto Sun
I've never heard of this and I wonder how many people have? I'm guessing by the statement that his insurance company not having heard of it before that it's not that well known.
Seems like a greedy cash grab to me by the municipalities.
TORONTO - Brantford resident Kevin Maguire was on his way to a business meeting in Mississauga in April when everything went pear-shaped.
It was a bright, sunny day. The weather was good and everything was going well.
Travelling east, he stopped at the traffic light at the intersection of Dixie Rd. and Eastgate Dr.
When the light turned green, he pulled into the intersection — and a car travelling south on Dixie blew through a red light and hit his Lincoln Navigator on the driver’s side — causing an estimated $20,000 damage.
The other person’s car flipped, rolled, slid onto the roof and hit a school bus.
Police and fire trucks arrived — although Maguire didn’t need assistance and wasn’t injured.
Apart from the headaches of sorting through the insurance fine print, Maguire thought everything was dealt with.
Then he got a bill for $277.30 from the City of Mississauga — for sending a fire truck.
This seems a bit rich to Maguire, given that he wasn’t at fault in the accident.
“I was blown away!” he told me by e-mail.
“I couldn’t believe that they could do such a thing ... what are our taxes for?”
Maguire called the City of Mississauga and was told that as a, “non-resident” he didn’t pay taxes in that city and therefore was not entitled to have fire and emergency services paid for by the city.
“I was wondering what country I lived in,” he said.
Maguire was raised in Mississauga. Four of his five children were born in that city.
“Mississauga brags about the fact they’re the only city in Canada that’s not in debt — and now I know why,” he said. “The worst part is that none of it was my fault. The guy who caused the accident of course doesn’t get a bill — because he lives in Mississauga.”
Mississauga is just one of many Ontario municipalities that charge a fee when fire trucks show up at an accident.
So-called “crash taxes” or accident response fees have been around for years but continue to spread across Ontario and North America as cash-strapped look to find new ways to generate revenue.
When Burlington instituted accident fees in 2010, that city’s fire department surveyed 80 Ontario municipalities and found 46 billed non-residents.
That list includes Brampton, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Mississauga, North Bay, Oakville, Pickering, Sarnia and Toronto.
Another 21 billed both residents and non-residents including Barrie, Haliburton, Markham, Richmond Hill, Timmins, Vaughan and Welland.
And just 16 didn’t bill at all, including Belleville, Brantford, Cobourg, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Oshawa, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Thunder Bay, Whitby and Windsor.
Some also charge for costs to clean up the accident, the absorbent for spilled fuel, foam to put out gas or oil fires and split that bill equally among the parties to the accident.
Maguire’s insurance company told him they’d never seen such a charge and he’s waiting to see if it’s covered.
However, under Ontario law Ontario’s Automobile Policy insurance carriers are required to “pay general average, salvage and fire department charges and any Canadian or U.S. customs duties for which you [the insured] are legally responsible as a result of an insured peril.”
A spokesman for Mississauga Fire said it’s common practice to charge out-of-town drivers for costs associated with fire and emergency services at accidents.
“It’s not new and it’s not isolated to Mississauga,” said deputy Chief Kevin Duffy. “It’s very common.”
Duffy said the fire department doesn’t get access to police reports related to accidents, so they have no idea who’s to blame for the accident.
“Most of it gets sorted out through the insurance company,” he said.
With no-fault insurance, though, often the driver who’s not at fault ends up paying for services.
“From our perspective, it’s the cost of running the business that a non-resident isn’t supporting,” Duffy said.
The City of Toronto and Toronto Fire Services (TFS) bills non-residents involved in motor vehicle accidents, regardless of fault attributed as a result of the accident.
“The fee of $410 per TFS vehicle dispatched, is based on the current Ministry of Transportation rate and divided by the number of vehicles involved in the accident,” said Toronto Fire Division Chief Toni Vigna. “Generally, no fees are applied if injuries or fatalities are sustained.”
Well, that’s nice of them.
Otherwise, though, it’s a rip-off.
We all pay taxes. This is a mobile society. Wouldn’t it make more sense for municipalities to have reciprocal arrangements so if one of their residents is in an out-of-town accident, they’re covered right across the province?
We’re not talking about crossing international boundaries or even moving to another province. Should you be dinged for these extra costs just because you’re unlucky enough to be caught in a traffic accident across a city line?
So a word to the wise.
If you’re taking a drive today and crossing city boundaries — watch out.
If you get into an accident and a fire truck shows up, watch you don’t get burned by the bill.
Brantford driver surprised by post-crash fire truck bill | Ontario | News | Toronto Sun
I've never heard of this and I wonder how many people have? I'm guessing by the statement that his insurance company not having heard of it before that it's not that well known.
Seems like a greedy cash grab to me by the municipalities.
