Stefanik Urges Congress to Pass Limo Safety Package Following NTSB Report
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is urging Congress to pass the comprehensive limousine safety reform package she introduced along with Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY-20), and Congressman Antonio Delgado (D-NY-19) on October 3, 2019. This is following a vote today by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to finalize their investigative report into the tragic crash of a stretched limousine in Schoharie, NY, that took the lives of 20 people on October 6, 2018.
The bipartisan limo safety package includes three bills aimed at closing the gaps in the law to ensure limousines meet federal safety standards, strengthening inspection requirements, and directing research to guide further updates to limousine safety regulations.
“Almost two years ago, tragedy struck our Upstate community when a faulty limousine crashed and took the lives of 20 New Yorkers,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “I will never forget the grief and sadness I witnessed and experienced when I attended the memorial event in Schoharie. I joined with Congressmen Tonko and Delgado a year ago to introduce legislation on behalf of the families who lost their loved ones and shed light on the concerning lack of safety regulations surrounding modified limousines across the country. The NTSB report released today shows clear negligence and egregious oversights and solidifies the urgent need for national limousine standards, citing ineffective state oversight of intrastate motor carriers in New York state. We must do more to hold bad actors with egregious disregard for safety accountable and I thank the dedicated NTSB investigators for their thorough work on this report. I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress to take unsafe limos off the road and work to put regulations in place to ensure tragic accidents like this never happen again.”
Based on the report, the NTSB issued six new safety recommendations to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Governor of the State of New York, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, and the National Limousine Association. The final report, along with these recommendations will be available in the next few weeks.
Posted: September 29th, 2020 under Congressional News, Law Enforcement News, Northern NY News, Upstate New York.