A New York couple has been arrested and charged with helping others cheat on their commercial driver’s license test which would allow them to drive buses and trucks. At least one bogus license went to a bus driver involved in a serious crash in Virginia last year which injured more than 50 people and killed four others. Authorities say that driver led them to the scam.

Law enforcement and immigration agents converged on the offices of Ying Wai Phillip Ng, 47, and his wife, Pui Kuen Ng, 47, on March 1. They were both arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud in a driver’s license test-taking scheme. They operated a driving school in Brooklyn known as N&Y Professional Service Line which authorities alleged helped people cheat on the CDL test. If convicted, they face a possible 20-year prison sentence for their fraudulent activities.

CDL’s are earned after the applicant passes a rigorous test administered by the New York Department of Motor Vehicles. The test helps the bureau confirm the applicant has the skills required to operate the largest vehicles safely; without danger to themselves or anyone who might ride with them or share the road with them. According to authorities the Ngs were helping people cheat on the test for a decade or more. Their scheme involved putting a wireless camera on the person they were “helping” and passing them the answer to test questions while they were taking the test.

Authorities produced documents which showed the Ngs helped 720 people take the CDL test administered by the New York DMV. It is unclear how many of those people received illegal help and who passed on their own. It is also unclear how many of those who received help are currently driving and whether or not they possess adequate skills for operating a commercial vehicle with or without passengers.

Traffic school teaches the importance of being self-reliant behind the wheel; driving defensively and considering all the possible hazards you might face operating a vehicle. It also teaches drivers to be responsible for their own actions and fully understand their own limitations.

If you need to cheat on your driver’s test to pass, that is a real limitation and you should go back and study more.

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