The Connecticut DMV keeps records of all school bus drivers with revoked or suspended licenses, but a local NBC affiliate in Hartford found that state law does not mandate the DMV to regularly ensure school bus operators are checking the list at least twice a month.
NBC Connecticut first reported that some local police officers were unfamiliar with the law requiring them to report any arrest of a school bus driver to the DMV within 48 hours. Then, the station uncovered the DMV list of school bus driver license suspensions and revocations that in some cases is going unheeded, with a potential ramification of school bus drivers being hired or otherwise allowed to drive when they shouldn’t be.
“When I looked at it, it’s appeared to me that [the DMV was] supposed to create the registry, and then make it available to all the school bus operators and then and then on a random audit basis make sure the school bus operators were using the information properly,” said state Rep. Andy Fleischmann, one of the law’s authors.
The current law may need to change to close any loopholes.
A DMV spokesman told NBC Connecticut that the DMV is not mandated “to regularly examine whether school bus companies have reviewed the driver suspension list.”
“Those overseeing bus operations must ensure the safety of their passengers by checking the list twice a month as state law requires,” added Bill Seymour from the Office of the Commissioner. “It is the same obligation as with other necessary safety measures. However, we will make any changes the legislature requires.”
