Trump requiring that truckers speak and read English

“Federal law mandates that commercial vehicle drivers read and speak English sufficiently, yet this requirement has not been enforced pursuant to Obama Administration guidance, compromising roadway safety as trucking fatalities have increased since this guidance was issued.”

In addition to mandating that drivers be placed out of service for lacking proficiency in English, it instructs the Transportation secretary to review state issued non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses “to identify any irregularities and ensure American drivers are validly licensed and qualified,” the fact sheet notes.

It also directs the Transportation secretary “to carry out additional administrative, regulatory, or enforcement actions to improve the working conditions of America’s truck drivers.”

The issue of English proficiency and related safety concerns among commercial truck drivers was elevated earlier this year after Trump issued an order on March 1 designating English as the official language of the U.S.

An informal sampling of over 500 comments submitted to the Department of Transportation after its recent request for recommendations on regulations that should be scrapped or revised found that roughly 10% – mostly owner-operators – want the department to enforce CDL requirements on speaking English.

Federal motor carrier safety regulations [391.11(b)(2)] requires that drivers “be able to read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, and to respond to official inquiries and to make entries on required reports and records.”

The move by the administration on Monday “is a welcome step toward restoring a common-sense safety standard,” said Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer.

“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. That’s why OOIDA petitioned the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance earlier this year to reinstate English proficiency as an out-of-service violation.”

OOIDA’s CVSA request asserts that “the ability to understand and react to road signs, especially in emergency situations, is critical for public and operational safety,” and that the lack of proficiency “has led to increased accidents due to misunderstandings or misinterpretations of safety instructions and road signage.”

The Arkansas Trucking Association, which supported legislation on English proficiency requirements for truck drivers that was signed into law in Arkansas earlier this month, was encouraged to see the issued elevated on a national level.

“Because trucking is fundamentally an interstate industry, a federal approach is necessary to ensure consistent enforcement of the safety standards across all highways,” commented Shannon Newton, the association’s president.

The reason CVSA members voted to remove English proficiency from its out of service policy in 2015 was because “they could not substantiate the safety impacts” FMCSA stated in its 2016 policy change.

A press release issued by DOT on Monday recognizing the new executive order called on CVSA to update the out-of-service criteria to include the ELP standard.

“Once incorporated, FMCSA’s policy will provide uniform enforcement by Federal and State inspectors,” DOT stated.

Related articles:

• FMCSA exempts deaf drivers despite CVTA objections
• Watchdog calls out lax FMCSA oversight of $2B in grant money
• Bill would force FMCSA to back off truck speed controls

Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.