Letter to Chairman Sumwalt - Leave No Stone Unturned In Your Investigation Into Stretch Limousine Safety

Letter

We write today to thank the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for your immediate response to the limousine crash in Schoharie New York on October 7th, 2018 that tragically killed 20 people. We appreciate the immediate response of the NTSB family assistance and investigative teams -- as well as you and Vice Chairman Landsberg personally traveling to the site. This crash, the deadliest transportation accident in nine years, demonstrates the extreme danger of putting unsafe limousines on the road and your work will be invaluable helping to ensure accidents like this do not continue to happen.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is our nation's premier safety agency and has done a remarkable job over the years in identifying gaps in our nation's safety requirements. As you are aware, there are considerable statutes, regulations, and recommendations for automobile safety, but we are concerned that there may be significant gaps in the safety requirements for altered limousines given how deadly the crashes are and how little information is available following these accidents. While NTSB did investigate the tragic motor coach accident in Cranbury, NJ in 2014, there are a limited number of accidents the NTSB has investigated and therefore a limited availability of safety recommendations. The process of cutting and adapting vehicles to make stretch limousines significantly alters the safety features required on passenger cars -- often rendering them useless. We implore you to leave no rock unturned in this investigation and look into the safety risks and current regulations for stretch limousines including: compliance with federal regulations, driver qualifications and any relevant human factors, vehicle inspections, vehicle requirements, and vehicle adaption standards, as well as any necessary evaluations of the intersections. Following the limousine crashes in 2015 in New Jersey and Long Island there is a growing need to create more stringent regulations for stretch limousines.

Recommendations from NTSB will help guide the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and Congress to establish better laws and regulations to increase the safety of stretched limousines for passengers, drivers, those in other vehicles and pedestrians. As you conduct your review we encourage a partnership with FMSCA and NHTSA to make concrete recommendations designed to prevent another horrific stretch-limousine crash from happening. We urge you to thoroughly and expeditiously conduct this review and, as appropriate, issue any immediate findings and recommendations that protects passengers, drivers, those in other vehicles and bystanders. Congress, NHTSA, and FMCSA rely on the information found by NTSB, investigations to create safety statutes, regulations, and recommendations and we stand ready to take action to get the necessary safety measures in place.

We appreciate your attention to this important issue, should you need further information please do not hesitate to contact our offices.

Sincerely,

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