Governor Andrew Cuomo signed several bills on Monday aimed at strengthening safety and oversight standards in New York's limousine industry, after his initial commitment to ban stretch limos altogether was abandoned amid fierce industry opposition.
The legislative package includes a bill mandating seatbelts for all passengers riding in limos by 2023, increased penalties for illegal U-turns, and a requirement that vehicles with more than nine passengers be driven by someone with a commercial license.
The slate of reforms was prompted by a deadly upstate limo crash in 2018 that killed 20 people — the deadliest transportation incident in the country in the past decade. Investigators later determined that the limousine had failed a state inspection, and that the driver lacked the appropriate license.
In the immediate aftermath, Cuomo proposed an outright ban on the registration and operation of stretch limousines in New York. "This crash was a horrific tragedy that shocked this state to its very core," the governor said at the time.
But that proposal was later dropped in favor of new regulations allowing the state to revoke the registration of vehicles that don't meet federal safety guidelines. Rich Azzopardi, a senior advisor to the governor, described the shift in language as a "more elegant solution."
That change suited limo companies as well, whose owners had mobilized against the promised prohibition. (Inquiries to several of those limo companies about Cuomo's new reforms were not immediately returned on Monday).
Stretch limos begin as regular cars or SUVs, which are later sawed in half and elongated, often stretched to maximum capacity beyond the eye of regulators. Several groups have raised concerns about the industry in the past.
"When we look at limousines and stretch limos, we see a really Frankenstein system of cars that potentially are cut up and put back together with parts and pieces that were not original to them," Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the nonprofit National Safety Council and former chair of the NTSB, told NPR.
A 2015 crash on Long Island killed four women and injured five others after a drunk driver T-boned the vehicle.
The governor's new legislation also creates a new passenger safety task force, establishes a hotline for concerned riders, and calls for random drug and alcohol testing of drivers.
"These far-reaching reforms deliver much-needed protections that will help keep dangerous vehicles off our roadways, crack down on businesses that do not prioritize safety and will give New Yorkers peace of mind when they enter a limo in this state," Cuomo said in a statement.
"New York stands with those who lost loved one in the horrific crashes that inspired this legislation and I commend the family members who worked tirelessly to help pass these bills to help prevent future tragedies."
