WASHINGTON — In the wake of President Donald Trump signing an executive order making English the official language in the U.S. on March 1, some trucking industry stakeholders are concerned about the lack of enforcement of a requirement that commercial drivers have a minimum proficiency in English.
Trump’s order noted that while English will be the official language, the change will not “require or direct” any change in services provided by any agency.
In a March 2 email to Larry Minor, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMSCA) associate administrator for policy, James Lamb, Small Business in Transportation’s (SBTC) president, stated: “If the agency’s policy is still to not place truck drivers who do not speak or read English out-of-service in accordance with the Department’s motor carrier safety regulations on qualifications to drive, we request you please change the policy back to placing such drivers out-of-service in the interest of public safety.”
Minor acknowledged receipt of Lamb’s email on March 3, but made no comment.
According to FMCSA guidelines, motor carriers are required to ensure that commercial drivers can “speak and read English satisfactorily to converse with the general public, understand traffic signs and signals, respond to official questions and make legible entries on reports and records.”
In a June 2016 FMSCA memorandum, Lamb noted, FMSCA removed the requirement to place drivers out of service for English Language Proficiency (ELP) violations and changed the industry’s standard for determining non-compliance with the ELP requirements.
SBTC Proposed Bill
On Wednesday, March 12, 2025, the SBTC board voted to propose to Congress a new bill, “Standards Affirming Fluency in English (SAFE) Motor Carrier Act of 2025.”
Part of the bill relates to proficiency in English. That section of the bill reads:
“The states (shall be required) to test for English proficiency during Commercial Driver License (CDL) knowledge testing to confirm drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMV) can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records. This requirement shall not be waived by the Secretary and the Secretary shall require department enforcement personnel and the states to place out of service any CMV driver found to not be able to read or speak English while operating a CMV.”
Tragedy Strikes
In 2021, a Florida jury ruled that two trucking companies were complicit in the 2017 death of an 18-year-old honor student, awarding the family of the late Connor Dzion a total of $1 billion in damages.
The driver reportedly could not read English, so the flashing electronic signs that were put up miles before the standstill, warning drivers to be prepared to stop, were not understood.
While Dzion sat in his car waiting for the wreck to be cleared, a rig driven by Kahkashan Carrier Inc.’s Yadwinder Sangha of Canada slammed into a parked line of cars behind the initial wreck, pancaking Dzion’s sedan and causing his head to be crushed between Sangha’s grill and the car in front of him.
Sangha was traveling with the cruise control at 70 mph, and the truck’s on-board data recorder showed he did not attempt to brake until one second before the fatal crash. Sangha was also looking at his phone instead of the road when he “steamrolled” into Dzion’s car.
2002 CDL Standards Audit
Lamb is also asking for reconsideration of a request to re-audit FMCSA as a follow-up to the 2002 CDL Standards audit., according to a Feb. 17 e-mail to Chuck Ward, USDOT principal assistant inspector general for auditing and evaluation. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was also copied on the e-mail request.
In the 2002 audit, English proficiency is addressed as follows:
“Federal standards related to English language proficiency for commercial drivers require clarification,” the audit said. “The Federal standard for motor carrier safety requires carriers to ensure that their commercial drivers are able to read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, understand highway and traffic signs, respond to official inquiries, and make reports and records. However, the Federal standard on CDL testing and licensing does not place any requirement on the states to test for language proficiency.”
According to the audit, FMCSA guidance allows states to administer the CDL knowledge test in foreign languages. Eight of the 13 States visited allowed the use of interpreters for the knowledge tests, although various restrictions on their use were in place. Driving tests were also administered in a foreign language by bilingual examiners in 2 of the 13 states visited.
“Given the variations and the previously noted condition on enforcing residency requirements, the current situation allows individuals to obtain CDLs in a state where the language requirements are different, and then return to their home state, where they may be able to exchange their CDLs without retesting,” the audit said. “We estimate that 123,000 CDLs are transferred annually. Establishing performance-oriented English proficiency standards and an agreed to testing protocol would discourage license shopping across states and establish consistent, nondiscriminatory practices nationwide. FMCSA announced it was considering a revision to the standard in 1997, but no draft or final standard has been issued.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
