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Duty of Care
According to Highway Traffic Safety statistics, in 2011 there were 29,757 passenger-car-related deaths, and over a million more injuries. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, in 2012, there were 15 aviation deaths involved in 9 accidents in on-demand flights. General Aviation suffered 432 total deaths which translates into 1 death in every 11 years of flight time.
Limousines seem like a safe choice for ground transportation. Are all limousine companies the same? Did your limo company fail inspection because maintenance was deferred due to money issues? Whether you are a business traveler, C-suite executive or just an individual taking a vacation, choosing the right ground transportation requires some risk management skills.
The Virginia Limousine Association has requirements put in place to ensure that VLA Limousine Operator Members are in full compliance with the following duty of care protocols:
- Vehicle safety and inspection, documented.
- Chauffeur safety training, initial and on-going.
- Chauffeur background checks, initial and updated.
- Capacity to track passenger location, real time.
- Level of insurance and regulatory compliance, initial and updated.
These duty of care protocols ensure that the providers who do not conduct driver safety training at hire and/or schedule on-going training periodically, and who do not update background checks are filtered out. The service providers must also be obsessive about car safety and upkeep. Not just regular mechanical maintenance, but cleaning, ding repair, and a general high-level of pride in the fleet.
Like any contract service provider, updated insurance certification and vehicle registration should be inspected and verified.
All members of the Virginia Limousine Association have applied all the above duty of care protocols in place in their business.
Other Consumer Resources:
Passenger Bill of Rights, click here
Virginia Department of Transportation (DOT)
Virginia DMV Transportation approved Services Providers www.dmvNOW.com/knowyourride
(On the above link you can find the list of approved carriers and other relevant information)
To file complaints; click here
(Above link is actually a consumer complaint for both Passenger and Property Carriers, however, it can also be used to advise DMV of those operating without the proper Operating Authority)
To find out if the company you want to do business with is properly licensed:
https://sccefile.scc.virginia.gov/Find/Business
What’s a TNC (Transportation Network Companies) --Digital Hitchhiking
Critical information click here