NY Senate Passes New Limo Safety Rules Following Fatal Crash

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The New York Senate has approved new safety regulations for limousines following an upstate crash that killed 20 people last fall.

The bills approved on Thursday would require large stretch limos to have seat belts, increase licensing requirements for limo drivers, strengthen criminal penalties for drivers who violate traffic laws, and make it easier for the state to impound unsafe vehicles.

The bills haven't yet received a vote in the state Assembly. They were introduced in response to two recent limo crashes that killed 24. Several relatives of those lost attended Thursday's vote.

Authorities say the limo involved in last fall's crash in Schoharie County was unsafe and shouldn't have been on the road.

In 2015, four women were killed in a stretch limo wreck on Long Island.