Truck driving industry experts condemn alleged action of OMV employee accused of advertising unlawful licenses

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Reggie James Jr. is out on bond, days following getting arrested on three felony charges for allegedly promoting six men and women professional driver’s licenses (CDLs) suitable out of the Business of Motor Vehicles (OMV).

According to the arrest report, the state staff sold six licenses at $800 a license to individuals who possibly did not take or did not go their driving take a look at.

Similar: OMV staff accused of accepting bribes for CDLs

“They’re just disregarding public safety,” stated Jason Salter. “That’s the bottom line of it. It is really dangerous when you have a car that weighs in excessive of 40,000 to 80,000 lbs and if you never know the suitable way of operating a vehicle, you can clearly harm oneself and other people today.”

Salter is the campus director at Diesel Driving Academy on Airline Highway. He says each day guys and gals are hard at perform below education to get their CDL.

“We average about 80 to 100 learners below every single working day. I would say in a 12 months we almost certainly graduate about 200,” reported Salter.

He tells WAFB their primary concentrate is safety and obtaining people upcoming truck drivers completely ready to strike the road throughout Louisiana. Their college students go by means of a arduous software, finishing 600 hrs of classroom and driving-the-wheel coaching before they qualify for the license.

“It’s 20 months of teaching during the day and if you occur at night time, it is 30 months of training and so you have a classroom portion, you have a selection of backing pad part and then we take you on the road as well,” mentioned Salter.

New tips approved by the federal governing administration now demand pupils to go to an accredited university for education before they can even implement for a license. People new guidelines were being supplied the eco-friendly light-weight in February. That is the exact month Louisiana Point out Law enforcement investigators say James started out marketing unlawful CDLs to folks correct out of the OMV.

“I do comprehend that considering that it built it more durable, that’s possibly why anyone tried using to circumvent the principles but that’s the explanation why people guidelines are in area due to the fact it’s so essential that you get that training before you go out on to our roadways,” reported Salter.

Law enforcement say James sold one particular of individuals licenses for $1,300 in funds to a man who experienced currently failed his examination several instances at other OMV places.

“When you acquire the examination and fall short it, you know that you are not all set,” Salter extra. “That’s telling you proper there and for another person to challenge it, that can be scary.”

“Yeah it could be a risky circumstance,” explained Sgt. Dustin Dwight with LSP. “You have a individual that essentially didn’t satisfy the skills to push a professional motor car or truck, which in some conditions could be a motor vehicle up to 80,000 kilos.”

State law enforcement explain to WAFB the folks at the OMV learned the alleged wrongdoing by way of an inner audit and handed the facts on to their investigators. Now that James has been arrested, it’s unclear if he labored alone or if any individual else could have served. That is aspect of the investigation.

WAFB’s Scottie Hunter questioned Dwight if there was any indicator that possibly James worked with another person else to do the alleged criminal offense.

“I think that our investigators are likely to glimpse at each readily available element of this criminal offense and make positive that it doesn’t continue on to occur make sure that every person that was involved is held accountable,” stated Dwight.

Leaders at the OMV say they have now determined these motorists and have questioned them to get in contact with the agency. If not, individuals licenses will be suspended.

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