BILL NUMBER: S3025

SPONSOR: KENNEDY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to establish the passenger safety task force on safety for
passengers transported by stretch limousines

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To make create the Passenger Safety Task Force to study issues related
to safety for passengers transported by stretch limousines.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill creates the Passenger Safety Task Force. The
task force will consist of twenty members, with the Commissioners of the
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles and the New York State
Department of Transportation serving as co-chairs. The additional eigh-
teen members will include representatives from each of the eleven
Department of Transportation regions, the superintendent of the New York
              

State Police, and six members appointed by the Governor, the Temporary
President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the Assembly.

The task force shall undertake a review of the actions and measures that
are needed to ensure safe, adequate, efficient and reliable passenger
transportation by stretch limousine. The task force shall issue a final
report and make recommendations regarding: (a) the promotion of enhanced
coordination and uniformity between the New York State Department of
Motor Vehicles and the New York State Department of Transportation
regarding the regulation of stretch limousines; (b) the establishment
and adoption of a uniform safety training program for drivers; (c) the
appropriateness of extending federal regulations that currently apply to
bus drivers to stretch limousines, including, but not limited to extend-
ing the requirement for alcohol and drug testing to drivers of vehicles
with ten occupants or more; (d) establishing a limit on the maximum
allowable time frame for stretch limousines to be permitted to operate
on state roadways; (e) the need for additional safety measures, includ-
ing traffic safety measures such as prohibiting drivers from making
U-turns or the use of hands-free devices while operating a stretch
limousine, and requiring that certain safety features be installed in
these vehicles, multiple anti-intrusion bars in side panels, carbon
monoxide monitors, and rear view cameras; and (f) increasing the minimum
age for drivers to obtain a license to operate stretch limousines.

Section two provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Stretch limousines are the vehicle of choice for many happy occasions,
from family events, to birthdays, to weddings, to the annual ritual of
prom. But they also present unique challenges that implicate the safety
of drivers and passengers alike.

As with any area where multiple state agencies must collaborate, period-
ic review of inter-agency and external communication is critical to
ensure passenger safety. Additionally, the current set of regulations
does not reflect the ever-changing array of safety features available to
other motor vehicles that may be practically deployed in a stretch
limousine. Finally, there are a number of questions that are specific to
stretch limousines, such as whether there is an upper limit that ought
to be established in terms of how long or for how many miles such a
vehicle ought to be allowed to operate on the state's roadways.

The need for this review was underscored by the tragic July 2015 limou-
sine crash in Cutchogue, New York that killed four people and injured
four others. It was further reinforced by the final report and recommen-
dations of the Suffolk County Supreme Court Special Grand Jury, which
was impaneled to investigate that Cutchogue crash and suggested a number
of improvements in passenger safety and regulation that ought to be made
at the state and county level. It has been prompted anew in the wake of
another, even deadlier crash in Schoharie, NY.

The legislation implements this recommendation from the Special Grand
Jury report by creating a task force of owners and operators of busi-
nesses that utilize stretch limousines throughout the different
geographic regions of the state, understanding that the particular
issues in New York City may not be those experienced in Buffalo or Syra-
cuse, to say nothing of suburban and rural communities. The task force
would be convened and co-chaired by the designee of the Commissioner of
the NYS Department of Transportation and the Commissioner of the NYS
Department of Motor Vehicles. Since law enforcement will be required to
enforce any changes, the State Police ought to be represented as well.
Finally, the Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, and President of the
Senate would select additional appointees including representatives from
community groups and those with deep knowledge and commitment to the
issues of traffic safety and reducing accidents and fatalities more
broadly.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2018: A.11386, referred to transportation.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.