Avella Continues To Push Legislation To Rein In Driving Schools

Queens, NY – Today, Senator Tony Avella announced that he will be reintroducing legislation that seeks to regulate the growing driving school industry in New York when the Legislature reconvenes in the new year. Currently, there are no laws or regulations preventing driving schools from conducting numerous training sessions in any location. 

The original bill, S5386, was introduced in the 2015-2016 legislative session but was not brought to the Senate floor for a vote. Senator Avella’s office has received a number of complaints from constituents who say the driving schools are careless and have taken over their neighborhoods. Additionally, many residents have complained that the inexperienced drivers have scraped their cars, taken off their mirrors, and have made them weary of parking in their own neighborhood. 

If signed into law, the bill would require driving schools to provide the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) with information regarding the locations in which it offers supervised driving instruction. The DMV Commissioner would then “prescribe such reasonable rules and regulations as he or she deems necessary to prevent the over saturation of such instruction within residential neighborhoods.” 

“Far too often neighborhoods are the victim of numerous driving schools simultaneously raining down on specific areas. With the driving schools come a litany of problems for residents of New York, parking becomes more scarce, cars get ruined, and learning motorists have been spotted speeding through Queens neighborhoods. The time has come to regulate this industry to prevent the disturbances and hazardous conditions that these driving schools create,” said Senator Avella.