Dorchester School District Four’s Student Transportation Department has proudly begun conducting the Basic Skills portion of the Commercial Driver License (CDL) examination as a third-party examiner for the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV). This milestone marks the first official use of the district’s newly constructed skill pad, a project completed through a valuable partnership with the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE).
The CDL examination process includes three parts: the Vehicle Inspection Test, the Basic Vehicle Control Skills Test, and the On-Road Driving Test. The first two parts, the Vehicle Inspection and Basic Skills tests, are administered on the district’s new skill pad, where applicants demonstrate their ability to safely inspect and maneuver a school bus. (See attached photos for a look at buses on the new course.)
Upon successful completion of these two phases, applicants then proceed to the On-Road Driving Test. This portion of the examination is conducted along an SCDMV-approved route designed to assess real-world driving abilities under various traffic conditions.
Once an applicant passes all three sections of the exam, they are eligible to visit the DMV to obtain their official CDL license. Following the completion of SCDE’s school bus driver certification process, the applicant becomes a fully licensed school bus driver for the state of South Carolina.
This initiative is a major step forward for Dorchester District Four, helping to streamline the licensing process, improve driver readiness, and ultimately enhance the safety and reliability of student transportation services.