Transportation Department Suspends 1,500 Truck Drivers Over English Deficiency

The U.S. Department of Transportation has taken 1,500 commercial truck drivers who were not proficient in English out of service in response to an April executive order by President Donald Trump, The Daily Signal has learned.

In May, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced new guidelines to strengthen English language enforcement for commercial truck operators.

“’America First’ means safety first. Americans are a lot safer on roads alongside truckers who can understand and interpret our traffic signs,” Duffy said in May at the signing of the guidelines. “This commonsense change ensures the penalty for failure to comply is more than a slap on the wrist.”

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a division of the Transportation Department, has had longstanding English-language proficiency requirements.

However, in 2016, the Obama administration directed the agency not to enforce the English proficiency requirement.

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration noted that the inability to read signs or speak English has led to fatalities. In January of this year, a non-English-speaking commercial driver was involved in a fatal crash in West Virginia and needed an interpreter for the post-crash investigation, according to the agency.

In 2019, a truck driver who was not proficient in English sped at almost 100 miles per hour through several signs that warned of a steep grade and dangerous curves. His actions led to a crash that killed four people, according to the agency.

Under Duffy’s May 20 guidance, commercial motor vehicle drivers who don’t comply with the English-language proficiency requirements will be placed out of service.

In the first 30 days of the guidance being in effect, 1,500 commercial drivers were put out of service for not complying with the English proficiency requirements.