The Department of Transportation in your state, just as in all states across the country, does not take it lightly when a you destroy part of their property. They will quickly come to repair the damage, but don't think they are going to pay for it out of the goodness of their hearts. No, they will send you the bill! They will either send the bill for the repair to the motorist at fault for the accident or his or her insurance company. These bills can soar into the hundreds of thousands of dollars range, depending on what type of property is damaged. Also, you will need to pay up quickly, because if you don't you may lose your license or be taken to collections. Crashing into something that belongs to the state is serious business. The types of things you are likely to get billed for include: highway signs, overpasses, bridges, fences, guardrails, traffic lights, light poles, sod, attenuators, and the hours of labor to fix the damage.
Perhaps you are thinking that you will not have to pay the bill right away. After all, there is someone who can drive you where you need to go if your license gets suspended for nonpayment. Think again. Most states will sue motorists who don't pay the damages they caused within the established time period. This, of course, brings them even more revenue and ensures that the bills are paid in a timely manner.
Kathy Kline, a member of the Illinois Department of Transportation (DOT), stated that their offices collect between $250,000 to $500,000 every year for these types of offenses. She also stated that at least 75% of the bills they send out are paid. This is because Illinois is very strict about following up on these bills and suspending licenses for delinquent motorists. In Washington's DOT, motorists only get one month to pay their bill after they receive notice. If they do not pay, they are sent to collections.
Two of the country's more populated states, California and Texas, both choose to car owner's insurance company. This means that if someone borrows your car and wrecks it by driving it into a piece of state property, your insurance, not the driver's, will be affected. This payment comes from your liability coverage, and you can expect your insurance rates to go up if you live in a state that operates this way.
Sometimes you will not have enough insurance coverage for the cost of the damage to a piece of state property. For example, if your coverage is only $20,000 for liability damages and the total damage to a bridge you crashed into is $100,000, you will be responsible to find a way to pay the difference. This is how the policy has been throughout the history of state Departments of Transportation.
If you are driving without insurance, you will still have to pay the bill. You will be stuck with the entire bill and will likely be penalized for not having insurance while driving. According to Deborah Harris from California's DOT, even those who are uninsured whose cars do the damage will be responsible for the bill, whether or not they are the ones driving. It will be your responsibility to seek to be paid back by the person driving the vehicle.
New York has a special policy for certain circumstances. According to their spokesperson Peter Graves, New York will not hold vehicle owners responsible for damage caused by a vehicle that was stolen. Similarly, if your car damages state property because you are hit by another driver and pushed into a sign or guardrail, most states bill the party responsible for the accident, even if they did not directly cause the damage.
Kline from the Illinois DOT did comment on the fact that Illinois often depreciates costs for items that have some age on them. A ten-year-old sign, for example, will not cost as much to replace as a brand new one. Illinois also allows the driver to decide whether or not the bill goes to the insurance company. For smaller bills, many drivers choose to pay it themselves to avoid penalties on their insurance premium.
Some states are more lenient than others. North Carolina, for example, does bill drivers at fault for state property damage, but they understand about the payment limitations most drivers face and do not expect the entire bill to be paid. Many states are willing to work with the driver or owner to create a repayment plan, since few drivers have an extra couple of thousand in their back pockets. They will, however, turn payments over to collections, which damages the credit report of the person who needs to pay the bill.
The best advice for drivers is to avoid damaging state property whenever possible. As Kline jokingly commented, if you need to hit something, consider hitting a sign. They only cost around $100.
