New York City Drops Plan to Charge for Accident Response

New York City has dropped a controversial plan to charge motorists involved in accidents for emergency response services.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Bloomberg administration confirmed its plan to withdraw the plan following City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s “strong case against it.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg had the authority to impose the fee without City Council approval.

Quinn argued that while the city faced economic hardships, emergency response is a “basic government function.” The so-called crash tax would have gone into effect July 1 and generated about $1 million in revenue annually.

Several municipalities throughout the country have passed similar measures, which insurers oppose.