NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8708
SPONSOR: Palumbo TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to prohibiting limousines from making U-turns
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to prohibiting
limousines from making U-turns.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
The Vehicle and Traffic Law is amended by adding a new section 1225-e to
read as follows: Limousines prohibited from making U-turns. For the
purposes of this section, the term "limousine" shall mean any of various
large passenger vehicles; especially a luxurious automobile usually
driven by a chauffeur and sometimes having a partition separating the
passenger compartment from the driver's seat. No limousine shall make a
U-turn at any traffic signal, intersection or sign.
JUSTIFICATION:
On July 18, 2015, a limousine with 8 young women ages 23 to 25 attempted
to make a U-turn on a four lane highway causing a tragic and deadly
accident where by passengers Lauren Baruch, 24, of Smithtown; Stephanie
Belli, 23, of Kings Park; Amy Grabina, 23, of Commack; and Brittney
Schulman, 23, of Smithtown, were killed. Fellow passengers Alicia Arun-
del, 24, of Setauket; Melissa Crai, 23, of Scarsdale, N.Y.; Joelle
DiMonte, 25, of Elwood; and Olga Lipets, 24, of Brooklyn were seriously
injured. Due to the very limited turning radius of the limousine, the
vehicle blocked all lanes while making the turn and a truck in the
oncoming lane had no avenue of escape to avoid hitting the limousine. As
many of us have seen in our own personal lives, limousines often end up
blocking a roadway while attempting to negotiate a U-turn due to their
limited turning radius. Consequently, it presents an extremely danger-
ous situation threatening the safety of not only the passengers, but to
the chauffer and others on the roadway. This legislation would prohibit
such turns for these vehicles requiring them to simply execute three
right hand turns followed by a left hand turn to reverse direction.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall become a
law.
