Amputee Wins Right to Drive School Bus : State Reverses Itself, Grants Special Permit to Fallbrook Man

An amputee who sued the Department of Motor Vehicles after he was denied a license to drive a school bus has won the right to pilot the yellow vehicles, his attorney said Tuesday.

Steve Gaut, 37, whose left leg was amputated below the knee after a dune buggy accident in 1976, initially was told by the state that he was “medically unfit” to be a school bus driver. Like applicants with poor eyesight or diabetes, DMV officials said, Gaut had an impairment that simply made him unsuitable for the job.

But last week, the state panel that had rejected Gaut’s appeal of the ruling reversed itself and awarded him a special permit. If, as expected, Gaut is granted a bus route by Fallbrook Union Elementary School District officials later this month, he may be the only amputee driving a school bus in California, DMV officials said.

“I feel great,” Gaut said Tuesday during a break from his maintenance job at the school district. “Most importantly, I feel good for the next guy who comes along. Maybe now they won’t just put him in some category and reject him like they rejected me.”

Gaut’s colleagues were equally pleased: “We’re all happy for him,” said Max Mattox, the district’s director of transportation and Gaut’s supervisor. “I always like to see a guy not exactly usurp the system as such, but get his just due.”

Kevin Croswell, Gaut’s Fallbrook attorney, said the ruling “merely confirms the fact that throughout this whole process, there was absolutely no evidence to show why Steve was unqualified to be a bus driver.

“From the start, it was clear that he meets all the requirements and has proven he can perform the necessary duties.”

But instead of taking such factors into account and “using the discretion they are instructed to use under the California Administrative Code,” DMV officials “just routinely denied Steve the permit.” Croswell said.

The permit was granted on a 2-1 vote by the state Certificate Action Review Board, a panel composed of a representative from the DMV, the California Highway Patrol and the Department of Education. The Department of Education representative, who cast the dissenting vote, could not be reached for comment.

Marilyn Schaff, chairwoman of the review board and assistant chief counsel for the DMV in Sacramento, said that Gaut has demonstrated “he can sufficiently compensate for his disability” and therefore should be granted a license.

“It was particularly convincing, I thought, that the officer who administered some tests couldn’t even tell he was missing a portion of his leg,” Schaff said.

Richard Hensley, the DMV’s driver safety manager, said he still has qualms about an amputee’s qualifications to pilot a school bus.

“Our outlook is we don’t like to take any chances with schoolchildren,” Hensley said, adding that if another amputee with credentials similar to Gaut’s applied to drive a school bus tomorrow, “We’d probably have to go ahead and issue a permit” based on the board’s ruling.

Gaut’s battle with the DMV began in November when he received notice from the department that his application for a license to chauffeur Fallbrook children to and from school had been denied.

The state contended that Gaut’s disability posed a greater than normal risk for children and made him more susceptible to fatigue. Because of his impairment, DMV officials said, Gaut was unable to meet standards for the special permits set forth in Title 13 of the California Administrative Code.

Gaut--who plays volleyball, water skis and had already been driving for the district five days a week under a temporary certificate--was “burning mad.”

“Here I was doing the job and they came along and told me I couldn’t,” Gaut said. “It was blatant discrimination.”

After a January hearing on the case, Gaut had hope: A DMV field representative had reviewed his qualifications, including his performance on a battery of physical tests, and had recommended that the license be approved.

But Sacramento disagreed, so Gaut filed suit.

Last week, a North County Superior Court judge ordered the state board to reconsider Gaut’s application. A day later, the Fallbrook father of two had his license.

“I think this proves to me that if you believe something’s wrong, then go out and fight it,” Gaut said. “I made a mark in their book for the next guy that’s handicapped.”

The case is not entirely closed, however. Next month, Gaut will go to court in an attempt to force the state to cover $1,500 in legal costs he incurred.