Limousine Service Safety is our Key Priority at KEE Limousine
With the recent tragic limousine accident in Upstate New York, our hearts are broken for the victims’ families and for the community. As a long-time professional limousine service in Litchfield County, we wanted to address the limousine service safety protocols we follow at KEE Limousine & I’ll Drive Livery.
The company that was the center of the accident, Prestige Limousine of Wilton, NY, had a long history of violations, with 22 violations in the last 24 months according to multiple sources (source: cbsnews.com).
KEE Limousine, as a long-time professional limousine service in Litchfield County, has no material violations on record in 10+ years. Our vehicles are all manufacturer-approved modifications (known as “QVM certified”), meaning the vehicle and all parts are made to handle the commercial purposes they serve. We employ a full-time certified mechanic who thoroughly inspects each vehicle on a weekly basis to ensure the safety of our drivers and clients. These checks include everything from brakes to tire tread depth to windshield wiper quality, and everything in between.
The vehicle involved in the fatal accident, a 2001 Ford Excursion Limousine, had failed inspection just one month ago and should not have been on the road. Additional to having a failed inspection, the modifications to the vehicle to make it stretched were not according the manufacturer guidelines, leaving it vulnerable to something to go wrong.
Stretch limousines usually start out as regular vehicles that are “stretched” into long vehicles. All vehicle manufacturers, such as Ford, have guidelines for modifications to ensure that additional weight and support are in place.
At KEE Limousine, all of the vehicles in our fleet, including our stretch limousine, are meticulously maintained for manufacturer mechanical and safety standards. Our vehicles are all insured for more than the minimum DOT-mandated amounts for the safety of not only our clients but our drivers as well.
In addition to the safety issues with the vehicle involved in the tragedy, the Prestige driver involved in the tragic accident was not properly licensed to operate the vehicle that was in the accident. According to federal regulations, any driver of more than 15 passengers must have a CDL license (Commercial Driver’s License) with passenger endorsement. By contrast, all KEE Limousine drivers are professionally trained and carry proper licensing for the safety of all.
As per CT DOT Law, https://keelimo.com/connecticut-limousine-laws-101/, CT limousine companies are only authorized to carry a maximum of 10 passengers. All chauffeurs must carry the correct endorsements on their license to legally drive in livery service. To obtain these endorsements, all applicants must have a current medical certification card issued from CT DOT, must
be finger printed and subsequently have their background checked by both the FBI and CT authorities. KEE Limousine also does our own background checks during the hiring process and then all chauffeurs are thoroughly trained prior to ever driving a client. Limousine service safety is paramount to our core business.
As always, we appreciate your trust in KEE Limousine, and we look forward to providing you, our clients, with safe, consistent, high-quality service for years to come.
