ALBANY — State lawmakers have passed a package of bills designed to boost safety requirements for stretch-limo operators, after an upstate horror involving one of the vehicles killed 20 people.
Family members of the victims of the 2018 crash flanked officials during Tuesday’s press conference in Albany and cheered the 10 proposals supported by leaders of the state Senate, Assembly and Gov. Cuomo.
“This has been a difficult journey for all the collective families that said, as everybody knows, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish,” said an emotional Kevin Cushing, who lost his 31-year-old son, Patrick Cushing, in the October 2018 crash in Schoharie County.
Seventeen passengers were traveling to a surprise birthday party in a retrofitted 2001 Ford Excursion at the time. All of the passengers, the driver and two bystanders lost their lives.
“We can’t change the past but we can make a difference in the future,” Cushing said.
One of the key pieces of legislation requires all new stretch limos to have seat belts starting in 2021 and retrofitted vehicles by 2023.
Multiple reports following the accident found that seatbelts could have saved the lives of at least some of the passengers.
“Limousines and celebrations: They go hand in hand,” said state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins (D-Westchester). “We want to make sure it’s kept that way. We’re going to hold limousine companies and drivers accountable, and ultimately, we’re gonna save lives.”
Other changes include a bill mandating that riders in taxis, liveries and limos — in both the front and back seats —wear safety belts.
This would apply to Uber, too.
A rep for the ride-share company said it supports the bill. The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission also supports the measure.
Additional bills set new requirements for drug and alcohol testing of hired drivers, criminal and financial penalties for illegal U-turns and a commercial GPS system. Another bill will implement a study on other safety measures, such as escape hatches.
Cuomo is expected to sign the bills into law.
Additional reporting by David Meyer