2023 New York Laws › VAT - Vehicle and Traffic › Title 5 - Drivers' Licenses › Article 19-A - Special Requirements for Bus Drivers › 509-G - Examinations and Tests.

§ 509-g. Examinations  and tests. Each motor carrier shall require the
following from each driver it employs:
1. A biennial examination pursuant to regulations established  by  the
commissioner,  by  a  physician,  a  certified nurse practitioner to the
extent authorized by  law  and  consistent  with  subdivision  three  of
section  six  thousand  nine  hundred  two  of  the  education law, or a
registered physician assistant who is not the personal physician,  nurse
practitioner  or  physician assistant of the driver. Included shall be a
requirement to conduct a vision test pursuant to regulations  issued  by
the commissioner.
2.  An  annual  check  of  the  applicant's past driving record, and a
personal interview.
3. Regular observation of the driver's defensive  driving  performance
while  operating  his  vehicle  with passengers by competent supervisory
employees of the carrier, or by competent outside supervisory personnel,
with written reports of the observations performed to be  maintained  in
the driver's file.
4.  A  biennial  behind-the-wheel  driving test conducted by competent
supervisory personnel of the carrier, or competent  outside  supervisory
personnel,  to  include defensive driving performance. Such driving test
may be conducted during the driver's normal daily operations  and  shall
also include:
(1) Pretrip inspection.
(2) Placing the vehicle in operation.
(3) Use of the vehicle's controls and emergency equipment.
(4) Operating the vehicle in traffic and while passing other vehicles.
(5) Turning the vehicle.
(6) Braking and slowing the vehicle by means other than braking.
(7) Backing and parking the vehicle.
5.  In  addition  to the provisions outlined above, all motor carriers
shall require each driver biennially  to  complete  a  written  or  oral
examination  testing  his  knowledge of the rules of the road, defensive
driving practices and the laws regulating driving a bus in  this  state.
Such  examination  may  be  conducted  during  the driver's normal daily
operations.
6. (a) All motor carriers shall be required to conduct  pre-employment
and  random  drug  and alcohol testing in accordance with the provisions
and requirements of Part  382  of  Title  49  of  the  Code  of  Federal
Regulations  on  all  drivers of a school bus, as defined by section one
hundred forty-two of this chapter,  regardless  of  commercial  driver's
license  endorsement.  Every such school bus driver shall be included in
the random testing pool from which drivers  are  randomly  selected  for
testing,  and  every  such  driver  shall  submit  to  such testing when
selected, as required in Part 382 of Title 49 of  the  Code  of  Federal
Regulations.  For  the  purposes  of this section "motor carriers" shall
mean a school or municipality  that  transports  children  to  and  from
school  or  any  person,  corporation  or  entity  in  contract  with  a
municipality  or  school  district  for  the  purposes  of  transporting
children to and from school.
(b)  Drug  testing  administered  pursuant to this section shall, at a
minimum, be in conformance with drug testing procedures as set forth  in
Part 382 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
* 7. In addition to the other provisions of this section, in the event
the  commissioner  authorizes  or requires the pre-trip safety briefings
required pursuant to subdivision nine of section five hundred nine-m  of
this  article to be live and in-person, all motor carriers shall conduct
a regular observation of the proficiency of  each  driver  who  operates
altered  motor  vehicles  commonly  referred  to as "stretch limousines"

directed or operated by such motor carrier, designed to  carry  nine  or
more  passengers  including  the  driver pursuant to operating authority
issued by the commissioner of transportation, in providing such pre-trip
safety briefings.
* NB Effective April 20, 2025