New York state Sen. George Borrello and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman are calling for an audit into how the New York Department of Motor Vehicles tests commercial drivers and licenses, as well as how it approves and monitors them with a particular focus on passenger carriers.
It comes in the wake of a deadly tour bus crash on Interstate 90 in Pembroke, in Genesse County, last year that killed five people and hurt dozens of others. Tour bus driver Bin Shao, 56, has been charged in connection.
“This man who has a New York state CDL license had to have a Chinese interpreter in order to understand the charges against him,” said Sen. George Borrello. “We found out actually down on Long Island, there was a scam going on involving the DMV. Where people were actually being paid thousands of dollars to sit and take the exam for others that could not actually complete the exams themselves because they could not speak English, read English, understand English.”
On Friday, Borrello and Blakeman and other officials returned to the crash site.
Blakeman pointed the finger at the Hochul administration.
“There is a guilty party here,” said Blakeman. “The guilty party is Kathy Hochul. Her policies have made us less safe, less secure.”
The investigation into the deadly August crash is still ongoing.
In a statement to Spectrum News 1, a DMV spokesperson said in part:
“The Department of Motor Vehicles is committed to the safety of New York’s roads. While we cannot comment on ongoing investigations, DMV follows all federal laws when issuing commercial driver licenses. Scoring cheap political points on a tragic crash and spreading misinformation to New Yorkers about what is ultimately an issue regulated by the Trump Administration does nothing to make our state safer.”
Friday’s press conference comes on the heels of the Trump administration’s announcement last month that CDL tests will only be in English. The announcement is part of the administration’s campaign to crack down on safety in the industry.