DENVER — After the deadliest U.S. transportation accident in nearly a decade, the transparency of limousine services will likely become a concern for groups looking to hire a vehicle.

The scrutiny is prompted by a crash in New York: A limousine loaded with revelers bound for a 30th birthday celebration blew through a stop sign at the end of a highway and slammed into a parked SUV outside a store, killing all 18 people in the limo and two pedestrians.

The driver of a supersized limousine involved in a crash that killed 20 people outside an upstate country store wasn’t properly licensed, and the limo failed a state safety inspection last month and shouldn’t have been on the road, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

If you’re interested in hiring services from a limo company, there are ways to check the safety record of the company before stepping inside a vehicle:

• Ask companies for references and their proof of insurance.
• Check a company’s history on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s website where a carrier’s safety data can be searched.
• Seek a company that hires professional drivers who have to pass background checks.
• Get everything in writing just in case there are issues.