The wheel deal

Proposal could stop rental vehicle terror

A WEEK after a madman drove down the Hudson River bike path and killed eight people, state lawmakers proposed legislation Wednesday to make it tougher for terrorists to rent vehicles.

Senators in the Independent Democratic Conference proposed a bill called the Vehicle Ramming Prevention Act that would set up a hotline for commercial rental company workers to report suspicious activity and require the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to create guidelines to help those employees figure out what actions or questions could be a cause of concern.

The bill would also make companies create their own prevention plans, based on U.S. Transportation Security Administration guidelines, and file it with the state’s homeland security agency.

“It’s a new approach and I’m just sorry we didn’t do it a lot sooner,” said state Sen. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx), who likened it to a hotline to report suspicious activity concerning the city’s water supply.

On Halloween, Sayfullo Saipov, 29, drove a rented Home Depot truck down a mile-long stretch of the bike path alongside the West Side Highway, from W. Houston to Chambers Sts. in lower Manhattan. In addition to the eight people who died, 13 victims were injured.

Vehicles have become the weapon of choice for terrorists looking for an easy way to kill innocent people. Between 2014 and this past April, there were at least 17 vehicle-ramming terrorist attacks worldwide, according to a TSA report the lawmakers cited. The attacks killed 173 people and injured 667 others.

Klein said he wants uniform guidelines for commercial vehicle rental companies, which have their own policies for workers to report suspicious activity.

“We know what to look for. We now have to, I think, inform the public,” he said. “But more specifically, we have to inform those individuals who are renting out these trucks and vans each and every day.”

Meanwhile, the senators said they want to put an as-yet unspecified amount of money in the next budget to help cities protect pedestrians and cyclists in places where they’re vulnerable.

“This can be the start of a pathway forward for the rest of the nation to follow in ways that we can keep pedestrians safe,” said state Sen. David Carlucci (D-Rockland County).

City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Manhattan), who attended the news conference, has been pushing his bill to make the city put more car-stopping posts, or bollards, in high-trafficked pedestrian areas.

“It would make a big difference on the city level,” Rodriguez said. “This is a moment where we have to put our money where our mouth is.”

Transportation Alternatives’ deputy director, Caroline Samponaro, said it’s important for lawmakers at all levels of government to work together to protect pedestrians and bike riders.

“I think the volume of locations that we’re going to want to address to truly protect public space is vast,” Samponaro said.