A Chula Vista driving school owner is warning parents to watch for the red flags of an unlicensed driving instructor.The warning was prompted after the driving school owner uncovered a troubling scam while attempting to hire new staff.Brian Polte, owner of Driving School 4 You LLC, said he recently posted a job listing online seeking driving instructors to keep up with growing demand and that's when red flags started appearing.Several applicants could not produce a valid California driving instructor license in person. Polte said a physical license sponsored by a driving school is required to legally teach in the state."So if it's not sponsored by a driving school, then it is illegal," Polte said.One applicant that 10News is not naming attempted to show only a photo of a supposed instructor license on a cell phone. Polte said the problems didn't stop there."And it just wasn't one.
And then the third [applicant] told me that he had his own little business," Polte said.Polte checked all the applicants' license numbers using the DMV's Occupational License Lookup Tool, which lists certified driving instructors authorized to teach in California. The results confirmed his suspicions."I did that with the ones that I saw, and they turned up illegal. So if there were ever an insurance problem, accident with these people, I would imagine that the insurance company would kick it back," Polte said.Polte's advice to parents is to always ask to see a driving instructor's physical license, then verify it using the DMV's website or by calling the California Department of Motor Vehicles to confirm the license number is valid.To check a driving school instructor's license status, the number to call at the DMV is either (916) 229-3126 or (916) 229-3128."It's serious, and let's try to protect our youth.
So I would say to every mother, father, ask to see their instructor's license," Polte said.The DMV responded to a request for comment and said:The DMV is committed to the on-road safety of the millions of Californians who travel on our roadways each and every day. The department does license driving school owners, operators, and instructors and investigates questionable/fraudulent activity. The department takes these issues very seriously and has a convenient link for individuals to file complaints here Driving School and Traffic Violator School Complaints -…
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