-----Forwarded Message-----
From: Raymond Stanton <>
Sent: Apr 29, 2022 2:48 PM
To: Gus Boucher - Caddy <>, John Stoodley <>
Cc: 'Paul Steinberg, President Professional Car Society' <>
Subject: Task Force meeting summary
My registration for the NY limo task force meeting today was approved.
I got in, and was able to listen to the meeting.
It took 10 minutes for the webex to download.
I did not have my camera on or my microphone, as we were invited to listen only at this time
To summarize the meeting
There were 59 limos pulled off the road within the first year after the accident
Since then there are 51 more that had their plates pulled and VIN blocked, never to be registered in NYS again
There was discussion of putting GPS tracking on all out of service limos, to make sure they don’t get back on the road. There is a legal question on it, one member said it was a waste of time, as the DMV and DOT would stop it from getting back on the road
Ron Barton member said that the Schoharie limo was a 1% of the 1% that worked around the system, and the vehicle was not DOT inspected, due to the owners circumventing the system
The committee talked about the need for limos to stay repaired, if they fail inspection, they will be impounded and locked down, would not even be allowed to get the vehicle repaired. They want to make it difficult to get the car out of impound.
The VP of the NY limo association said in the last 2 years, that limos of 7 passenger or more; the business has dropped over 60% NY is the most regulated limo industry in USA, the stretch limo fad is also fading away,
Smaller limo owners are going out of business, there were many that only did limo on weekends, their vehicles were 9 to 18 years old, and just cant deal or afford the new regulations required in NYS.
The team was concerned these vehicles will go to CT, and get registered, and NYS will not be able to stop them. Obviously the majority of these cars are used in NYC or Westchester county
There was discussion of child locks on rear limo doors, some liked the idea, but they realized on some limo your only escape is the rear door, and it could not have a child lock, as it can only be opened from the outside.
Limo need escape routes, either rear door, moon roof, or tip out side windows.
There was discussion of all limo inside the car need a glass breaking tool, and a fire extinguisher
It was stated most of the limos today are 120 inch stretches, and they want the limo to have rear view cameras
There was discussion about each seat now requires every passenger to have a seat belt on, however there was discussion on how was the seat belt law to be enforced. Some passengers buckle them, then sit on them. One person said that limo should not move until all passengers are belted, like on an airplane, and you can not move out of your seat while moving. No decision on how to enforce
The agencies shared how they now are sharing info between DMV and DOT, better than before. They are now tracking all limos, and have suspended registration on 250 limos in NY
There is a new project called ABLE, stands for Automated Bus Limo Enforcement – which is a computer database to track all vehicles.
The task force is looking to quantify how many retail vehicle inspectors were inspecting, and passing inspection on limos, which should have been sent to DOT for inspection. Remember any vehicles carry 9 or more, must have DOT inspection 2 times a year. Im sure the next step will be to retrain any who did pass a vehicle for inspection, since the DMV computer did not stop them.
The task force talked about CDL and alcohol testing and now that cannabis is legal in NY, they have to see how NY compares to federal CDL laws. NY CDL for alcohol is 0.04. Cannabis can not be measured like alcohol, but federal CDL prohibits cannabis I think, However in 2024 there will be new CDL laws regarding cannabis.
There will be a public hearing, date has not been determined yet. Date location, and format will be determined. Only one hearing is needed.
There was a discussion about the FBI investigation and the Attorney General investigation into the accident. The AG investigation is probably about criminal issues, the FBI investigation is probably about internal failures, and we may never hear the result since it may regard national security.
There was one family member on the task force, Nancy Dilmonte, who lost 4 girls in the accident. There is one family member that has a lifetime injury, and their insurance has run out of benefit, so of course, she is pushing for the max so this never happens again. So its an education process for all on the task force.
Ill send another email shortly, after I update my talking points, I learned a few other issues to expand on.
I cc Paul, so you can share with the PCS Board, if they have a meeting before the National meet in June
