Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara announced that several laws he championed last year to improve limousine safety in response to the devastating 2018 limousine accident in Schoharie County have gone into effect in February. These include measures to ensure stretch limousines meet necessary safety standards, impose stricter oversight on drivers and allow individuals to easily report safety issues.

“It’s been more than two years since the deadly limousine crash in Schoharie County that claimed the lives of 20 people,” Santabarbara said. “Our community still aches for the family members, friends and neighbors we lost on that horrific day. That’s why I’ve been fighting ever since to make the limousine industry safer once and for all. The new laws are long overdue and will help us better protect our families and ultimately save lives.”

The October 2018 crash in Schoharie County that claimed the lives of 20 people was the nation’s deadliest transportation accident in nearly a decade.[1] Back in July 2015, another limousine tragedy struck Long Island when four passengers were killed and four more were seriously injured in a crash in Cutchogue.[2] 

Santabarbara authored many of the new laws going into effect next month, including measures to:

• increase penalties for illegal U-turn violations committed by stretch limousine drivers (Ch. 4 of 2020);
• require the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to establish and publicize a toll-free hotline that allows individuals to report safety issues regarding stretch limousine vehicles or drivers (Ch. 5 of 2020); and
• requires drivers of stretch limousines with seating capacities of nine or more passengers including the driver to hold a commercial driver’s license with a passenger endorsement – a license class that mandates more driver training and regular vehicle inspections – and that stretch limousines comply with DOT safety regulations (Ch. 6 of 2020).

In addition, Santabarbara co-sponsored a new law going into effect authorizing the DOT to impound or immobilize stretch limousines that fail a safety inspection – and are placed out of service – until the vehicle is repaired (Ch. 9 of 2020). This comes after it was reported that the DOT had been investigating the limousine company involved in the Schoharie crash more than a year before it occurred and had ordered the limousine off the road twice after it had failed safety inspections.[3] This law will help ensure the DOT can take action next time and prevent these dangerous vehicles from getting on the road and putting our families in harm’s way, Santabarbara noted. Another new law will require motor carriers to conduct pre-employment and random drug and alcohol testing of drivers who operate stretch limousines, taxis and liveries that hold nine or more passengers including the driver (Ch. 2 of 2020).

“No community should ever have to feel this type of pain and loss again,” Santabarbara said. “While these new laws going into effect will help keep New Yorkers safe, I strongly urge the U.S. Congress to step up as well and pass similar measures to protect passengers in every state across the country.”

[1] timesunion.com/news/article/20-killed-in-Schoharie-limousine-crash-13288015.php

[2] patch.com/new-york/northfork/4-reportedly-dead-after-truck-crashes-limo-cutchogue

[3] timesunion.com/7day-state/article/IG-complaint-DOT-shares-blame-for-limo-tragedy-13932379.php