President Trump is mandating that truck drivers speak English before they hit the road with an executive order designed to “keep American families safe on the road.”
The order signed Monday directs Transportation secretary Sean Duffy “to rescind guidance that watered down the law requiring English proficiency for commercial drivers,” and make sure new guidance mandates that commercial drivers pass English literacy tests.
“President Trump believes that English is a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers, as they should be able to read and understand traffic signs; communicate with traffic safety officers, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station personnel; and provide and receive feedback and directions in English,” a fact sheet of the order says.
Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told new members of the media at a separate briefing that truckers not speaking English “is a big problem in the trucking community.”
“There’s a lot of communication problems between truckers on the road, with federal officials and local officials as well, which obviously is a public safety risk so we’re going to ensure that our truckers, who are the backbone of our economy, are all able to speak English,” she said.
Truckers who can’t pass the test will be “placed out-of-service, enhancing roadway safety,” according to the White House.
The order reverses a 2016 memo from the Obama administration that said non-English speaking drivers did not have to be placed out of service.
Trucking groups were quick to praise Mr. Trump for the order, even before it was signed.
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer said in a statement that “OOIDA and the 150,000 truckers we proudly represent strongly support President Trump’s decision to resume enforcement of English proficiency requirements for commercial drivers.”
“Basic English skills are essential for reading critical road signs, understanding emergency instructions, and interacting with law enforcement. Road signs save lives—but only when they’re understood,” Mr. Spencer said.
The necessity for a uniform language in transportation safety is widely acknowledged.
Indeed all air-traffic control of passenger planes worldwide is conducted in English, regardless of the nationality of the plane or the sovereign control of the airspace.
Lack of facility with English and resulting miscommunications have been cited, at least in part, in some of the worst air crashes in history.
