CA Senate Bill 109 is an example of the news driving the enactment of a new law, in this case, regarding limousine safety. We see a lot of these at LIS, and this one came out of an occurrence from last summer. The author, Senator Corbett, originally introduced SB 109 to address aerodynamic devices and vehicles, but she gutted and amended her bill in June in response to an unfortunate incident that occurred on May 5, 2013, in which a limousine caught fire while traveling on the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge over the San Francisco Bay. That limousine was carrying nine passengers. The driver escaped unharmed and four of the passengers escaped through the driver’s partition. The five other passengers died in the blaze.
Senator Corbett noted that the location of the fire (at the rear of the vehicle) blocked access to the only passenger doors, trapping the passengers inside. The only way to escape was to climb through the partition window separating the passenger compartment from the driver. There were no other exits and, thus, no way for all nine passengers to successfully escape. According to the author, this tragedy could have been prevented if there had simply been another way to get out of the vehicle.
Thus, with limousine safety in mind, Senator Corbett carried this bill to provide passengers with additional methods to exit a limousine in emergency situations. She argued that unlike larger motor carriers including buses and airport shuttles, limousines “are largely unregulated regarding safety standards and are not subject to third party safety inspections.”
Specifically, SB 109 requires carriers that operate limousines for less than 10 passengers to install two push-out windows and two rear-side doors. For limousines that have been extended or modified to increase passenger length, on or after July 1, 2015 these vehicles will also be required to have one door located near the driver’s compartment and another near the back of the vehicle.