Cuomo snags 46 bad commercial drivers

As part of the crackdown on bus safety, the governor recently announced the arrest of 46 commercial drivers – including bus drivers – for fraudulently obtaining driver’s licenses using an alias.
“With these new arrests and our continued enforcement actions, the message should be clear: we will not tolerate dangerous buses, drivers, or fraud in obtaining a license,” Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said.
A March 12 crash in the Bronx of a bus traveling from Connecticut killing 15 passengers followed two days later by a crash in New Jersey of a New York City bus traveling to Philadelphia killing two people led the governor to begin his crackdown on bus safety.
The investigation and arrests were aided by the use of facial recognition technology. The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles used facial recognition to identify people with multiple licenses.
“While America may be the land of second chances, that doesn’t mean you get a second identity,” said New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly. “Many of the individuals arrested today obtained multiple driver licenses in order to collect benefits, and even worse, to conceal violent criminal histories.”
Several of the drivers arrested had a high number of unanswered traffic tickets and others had open felony warrants
Among those arrested, several were active bus drivers and four were employed by the MTA.
Since the governor began the crackdown on March 17, the New York State DOT has conducted 1,960 surprise roadside inspections up until this week leading to 173 bus drivers and 143 buses being removed from New York roadways.