Flooding or water on roadway: Liability for expenses if person travels through temporary roadblock or is convicted of reckless driving; limitations on liability and expenses; immunity from liability.

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1. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 4 and 5, a person who, as described in NRS 484B.580, unlawfully proceeds or travels through a temporary roadblock established pursuant to NRS 484B.573 because of flooding or water on the roadway, is liable for the expenses of any emergency response that is required to:

(a) Remove the driver or any passenger from the vehicle;

(b) Move or remove the vehicle that becomes inoperable from the roadway or any area near the roadway where the vehicle creates a hazard; or

(c) Both (a) and (b).

2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, a person who is convicted of reckless driving pursuant to NRS 484B.653 for driving a vehicle into any area that is temporarily covered by a rise in water level as a result of flooding or any other cause, may be liable for the expenses of any emergency response that is required to:

(a) Remove the driver or any passenger from the vehicle;

(b) Move or remove the vehicle that becomes inoperable from the area; or

(c) Both (a) and (b).

3. The liability imposed by this section is in addition to and does not limit any other liability that may be imposed in accordance with law.

4. A person’s liability for the expenses of any emergency response pursuant to this section must not exceed $2,000 for a single incident.

5. A person who violates subsection 1 as a result of making a good faith effort to assist a person who is or appears to be in danger because of flooding or water on the roadway is immune from the liability imposed by this section.

6. An insurance policy may exclude coverage for a person’s liability for the expenses of any emergency response as described in this section.

7. The expenses of any emergency response pursuant to this section are a charge against the person liable for those expenses in accordance with this section. The charge constitutes a debt of that person and may be collected proportionately by the public entities, for profit entities or nonprofit entities that incurred the expenses.

8. As used in this section:

(a) "Expenses of any emergency response" means all reasonable costs and expenses directly incurred by any entity making an appropriate emergency response and removing a person from a vehicle or moving or removing a vehicle pursuant to subsection 1 or 2. The term includes, without limitation:

(1) The salary or wages of any person participating in the emergency response;

(2) The deemed wages of any volunteer of a public entity participating in the emergency response; and

(3) The costs for the use or operation of any equipment used in the emergency response, including, without limitation, the cost of fuel for the equipment.

(b) The term does not include any fees or charges assessed for the use of an air ambulance or ambulance, as those terms are defined in NRS 450B.030 and 450B.040, respectively.

(Added to NRS by 2015, 1122)


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