2 bills to toughen limo rules go to governor – 9/15/13

The Center for Auto Safety is the nation’s premier independent, member driven, non-profit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to improving vehicle safety, quality, and fuel economy on behalf of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.

Four months after a limousine fire on the San Mateo Bridge killed a bride and four other women, a pair of bills designed to strengthen California’s regulation of limos and make them safer is awaiting action from the governor.

The Bay Area legislators who sought the reforms said they are optimistic that Gov.Jerry Brown will sign both bills. A spokesman for the governor, who has until Oct. 13 to act, said Brown wouldn’t comment.

The bills are a bid to protect members of the public who use a mode of transportation that is generally trusted but not tightly controlled, with no inspection requirements for vehicles that are stretched after they leave a manufacturer’s assembly line.

“The San Mateo fire was really a wake-up call to look at this industry,” said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety in Washington, D.C. “We certainly support legislation that improves motor-vehicle safety.”

Click here to read the full article from the San Francisco Chronicle