DMV takes on driver training before your child boards the bus

Part of the annual back-to-school hustle is making sure there are enough buses and drivers trained to transport thousands of children to class on time. Just about a week before the traditional school year starts, both were put through their paces Tuesday at the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles in Rocky Mount.

It marks the first time the DMV has owned buses. They will be used for training at school systems across the state.

The money for the buses came from a grant. “That same grant also allows us to pay for the extensive training of school bus drivers,” said DMV Commissioner Wayne Godwin.

Last school year specialists trained and certified 3,754 new school bus drivers and re-certified another 6,654 drivers to drive more than 12,000 school buses. The work is well underway to get drivers and buses road ready for 2024-25.

Terry Fuller is the DMV’s school bus and traffic safety manager. “It is a lot of information to soak in in three days,” he said.

Would-be drivers take a test of a couple hundred questions. “You have to get an 80% to pass,” Fuller said.

In addition to the hands-on training in Rocky Mount, another 250 drivers statewide will study in a “virtual classroom training” environment before they get “behind-the-wheel training.”