Failed longish test mean truckers taken off roads
Thousands are removed amid new crackdown
By: Trevor Hughes
USA Today
..... At least 3,000 truckers have been taken off American roads over the past two months [07-08/3035] after they failed mandatory roadside English tests, as the Trump administration gets tougher on commercial drivers nationally.
.....
The move has drawn applause from many trucking associations, which says consistent enforcement will improve road safety by ensuring drivers can read roadside signs, including massage boards warning of slow traffic ahead or dangerous road conditions. But some critics worry about the potential for improper racial profiling by police.
..... Adding new urgency to the debate: California-licensed trucker Harjinder Singh is accused of causing a fatal August 12 [2025] crash in Florida after pulling an illegal Y-turn and colliding with a minivan. He then failed a roadside English proficiency test, federal officials said in a social media post calling him an undocumented immigrant who should not have been licensed.
..... "Federal law is clear, a driver who cannot sufficiently read of speak English - our national language - and understand road signs is unqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle in America. This commonsense standard should have never been abandoned," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in announcing the new enforcement policy.
..... The top five states where drivers have been removed form roads are, in descending order, Texas, Tennessee, Wyoming. Iowa and Arizona. Texas has removed nearly 350 drivers from the road, according to federal statistics.
.....
Although some states allow drivers to take the written proportion of the Commercial Driver's License test in either English or Spanish, truckers must also demonstrate proficiency solely in written and oral English when they take the practical test. Singh, who is a native of India, used a translator in a California court appearance on August 20. [2025]
..... Once on the road, truckers are also required to speak and road English during traffic stops and weigh-station checks. The Obama administration suspended enforcement of the English proficiency rule in 2016, but the Trump White House reverse that decision as of June 25, [2205] requiring truckers to talk to inspectors without the use of apps or a translator. The English-language rule has been law for decades, although unevenly enforced.
..... The English-language rules also apply to Mexican or Canadian truckers allowed to drive in the United States with their own version of a CDL.
..... President Donald Trump in March [2025] declared English the sole official language of the United States, although it remains unclear whether he has the legal authority to force states to follow that federal rule.
.....
Trucking industry experts say they have no solid data on how many crashes may be caused annually by truckers who can't read English-language road signs. But crashes involving trucks are typically more dangerous and expensive, according to federal officials.
..... Enforcement of the English-language rule is left up to states, although the White House has also signaled that it might withhold highway safety funding if states don't participate.
..... "The trucking industry is thankful that the Trump administration responded to our concerns on the uneven application of this existing regulation," American Trucking Association Chief Operating Officer Dan Horvath said.
..... In Wyoming, the state's commercial motor vehicle inspectors have taken about 240 truckers out of service for lack of English ability since June 25. [2025] Troopers found 379 violations last year, [2024] although those truckers were allowed to stay on the road.
..... Wyoming Highway Patrol Lieutenant Kyle McKay, who supervises the state's motor carrier unit, said his troopers test drivers for English ability during random roadside inspections and at mandatory port of entry checks.
..... The test, which is standardized across the country, requires that drivers answer 14 specific questions in English and identity 37 different kinds of road signs.
..... Singh, the trucker accused in the fatal Florida crash, was only able to answer two of 12 verbal questions and only identify one of four highway traffic signs, federal officials said.
.....
Commercial truckers are held to a higher standard than passenger car drivers, and their licenses also require routine medical exams. Truckers are also required to submit to random safety checks and weigh-ins.
.....
"We're not trying to limit commerce or transportation. "We're just trying to keep everyone safe," McKay said.
.....
He said troopers, who determine a drive can't speak English will then help them wait for a replacement drive in a safe place, sometimes escorting the down the interstate to a rest stop or exit.
.....
The English-language enforcement is just one of several steps the White House is taking to address concerns about unsafe driving. Regulators are also clamping down on fake medical paperwork and auditing states known for divine CDLs to drivers who aren't residents.
.....
Former trucker Adam Wingfield, who now works as an industry consultant, said he worries enforcement will be uneven around the country.
..... "At the end of the day, the person who is enforcing is still a human and can have different kinds of biases," he said. "It's a lot like stop and frisk - you're going to have some states do more enforcement and others do less."
..... Looking at safety statistics, Wingfield said the Obama-era suspension appeared to have little impact on truck crashes nationally. He said "sketchy" companies are too quick to hire unqualified drivers, regardless of their ability to speak English.