USA TODAY International Edition
New York limo crash heightens safety concerns
State regulations didn’t prevent deadly accident
The state of New York might have some of the nation’s toughest regulations for limousines, but that still did not prevent the country’s worst transportation accident in nearly a decade Saturday. All 18 people in an SUV limo and two pedestrians were killed when the vehicle crashed Saturday about 160 miles north of New York City. The limo group, who were heading to a Cooperstown, New York, brewery for a surprise birthday party, originally rented a bus, but it broke down and the limousine was substituted. Any limousine operating in the state of New York must meet vehicle and driver’s license regulations that are among the toughest in the nation, said Kevin Barwell, president of the Limousine, Bus, Taxi, Operators of Upstate New York. Limousine operators must comply with strict state laws and federal laws if they operate between states or venture into Canada. In this case, the Albany-area limo operator Prestige Limo had failed a recent state inspection and did not have appropriate federal certification, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.
What type of regulations are there for limousines and drivers?
All states require licenses for limousines and drivers. In New York, each for-hire vehicle that seats 10 or more passengers must be inspected twice a year by the state Department of Transportation. The Ford Excursion limo involved in Saturday’s crash failed an inspection last month, Cuomo said. Vehicles that cross state lines or go into Canada must be licensed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and meet requirements including inspection record-keeping, driver qualification and medical examination requirements. The Ford Excursion limo did not have this certification either, Cuomo said. Drivers must have a driver’s license and pass vision, written and road tests. And drivers who operate vehicles with nine or more passengers must have a commercial driver’s license. Those drivers must also pass physical exams and are subject to random drug testing. The driver of the vehicle – Scott Lisincchia, according to media reports – did not have the appropriate driver’s license to operate the limo, Cuomo said.
Will this incident have any effect on the limo service industry?
Saturday’s accident will likely result in safety issues being highlighted but industry workers say regulations already exist – enforcement is needed. “Whether this vehicle was inappropriate for the task at hand, I don’t know enough,” said Jeff Rose, president of the Limo Association of New York. “But no matter how much regulations you have, there may always be people who don’t obey all the regulations.”