Taxpayers Forced to Pay for Substandard Driving

Rick Patterson

Attorney

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While most citizens are aware that law makers drive state owned vehicles, you may not be aware of the fact that lawmakers file auto insurance claims at a much higher rate than the general public. Last year, lawmakers filed claims at a rate of 22.5 per 100 vehicles, whereas California drivers' claim rate was approximately 14.8, according to the director of research for the Association of California Insurance Companies." The amounts that are paid by the state for injury claims and damage to vehicles is in addition to the $1.7 million California taxpayers pay for lawmakers' vehicles, maintenance for those vehicles and gasoline.

San Francisco Democrat Senator Carole Migden really put this issue under a microscope when on May 18 she drove a state vehicle erratically for 30 miles before rear-ending another vehicle carrying a 3-year-old little girl and her mother. This incident is not isolated. It seems that Senator Migden's claims are numerous. " She sideswiped a bus on June 8, 2006, causing $5,028 worth of damage to the state vehicle. In 2005, she was involved in two minor fender-benders while parking, according to reports she filed with the Senate Rules Committee. Sacramento County Superior Court records show Migden, then an Assembly member, also ran a stop sign near the state Capitol in 1996, injuring the other driver." It is enough that California taxpayers are picking up the driving expenses for law- makers, but to have to foot the bill for such substandard driving is nothing short of ridiculous.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Automobile and Motorcycle Accidents.