WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are pushing companion legislation to a House bill aimed at keeping truck drivers who are not proficient in English off the road.
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Connor’s Law, introduced in the House in May and named after Connor Dzion, an 18-year old killed in Florida in 2017, was introduced last week by Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and co-sponsored by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.
Dzion was killed by a distracted truck driver unable to read warning signs alerting to upcoming traffic.
Lawmakers often use companion bills to bolster a piece of legislation’s chances of becoming law by allowing the measure to move through the committee process in both chambers concurrently, considered a major advantage because it can save a significant amount of time.
As of Wednesday, the House bill, which was aided through lobbying efforts by the Small Business in Transportation Coalition on behalf of small-business truckers and owner-operators, had 16 cosponsors, all Republicans.
In addition to codifying updated truck-driver out-of-service guidelines for English proficiency violators put in place earlier this year by the Trump administration, the Senate bill, like the House version, requires that individuals be able to “read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, respond to official inquiries, and make entries on reports and records,” in order to get a commercial driver’s license.
“Wyoming is a critical interstate commerce hub, with I-80 as a major shipping corridor,” Lummis said in a press release.
“Our challenging road conditions, including high winds, winter storms, and mountains, demand clear communication between drivers and authorities. This legislation will correct the major mistake the Obama administration made in undermining these rules and will codify President Trump’s executive order to make our highways safer for all Americans.”
Trucking companies and owner-operators support the legislation.
“By ensuring that all truck drivers who operate 80,000 lb. pieces of machinery on public roadways can read signs, and communicate with law enforcement and first responders, this legislation strengthens accountability and helps prevent tragedies before they happen,” said Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, in a press statement.
Following Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s signing of an order to reintroduce strict enforcement of English language proficiency standards for commercial truck drivers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued new guidelines for trucking company hiring managers.
FMCSA recommends driver interviews be conducted in English and that they include questions that would reveal whether a prospective driver could answer questions related to:
- Origin and destination of a recent or planned trip.
- Amount of time spent on duty, including driving time and the record of duty status (or logbook).
- Information contained in the driver’s license.
- Information contained in shipping papers (actual or sample shipping papers, including hazardous materials shipping papers, if applicable) for the load transported/to be transported.
- Vehicle equipment subject to inspection.
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