City authorities can seek restitution from some wrecks

Lynchburg has adopted a new measure that will make it easier for authorities to seek restitution from drivers who cause accidents in the city. Only drivers convicted of certain charges, such as driving under the influence or reckless driving, will be affected.

The city’s decision is specifically designed to allow public safety officers to recoup the cost of responding to a wreck.

In the past, the only way to recover those expenses was by filing a civil action against the driver behind the crash. Local emergency responders do not currently exercise that power because of the burden involved.

Under the new system, which was just authorized by the General Assembly this year, a judge can make restitution one of the requirements of a driver’s traffic sentence. This streamlined approach will allow the city to make greater use of the restitution clause, officials say.

The added fines will apply only to drivers convicted of driving under the influence, reckless driving, driving without a proper license or leaving the scene of an accident.

Lynchburg officials also wrote in an additional restriction that says both the police and fire or EMS departments must respond to an accident in order for it to qualify for a restitution request.

Police Chief Parks Snead said this would ensure that only the more “egregious” incidents are taken into consideration. A broader version of the resolution brought to City Council over the summer had sparked concern that drivers guilty of less serious offenses where no crash occurred could be subjected to the tougher fines.

Council reviewed the revised language during a meeting Tuesday and voted unanimously to adopt it into the city code. It officially takes effect Nov. 1.

Under the restitution law, the public safety division has the option of charging a flat fee of $250 or seeking as much as $1,000 provided they compile a detailed, minute-by-minute accounting of their expenses.

Snead said his department will most likely stick with the flat $250 sum. It is difficult to predict how big a cost-saver this new system will be for the city. The police department has tentatively projected it will recoup $20,000 a year in DUI convictions alone.