No English, no commercial driving. Crackdown on truckers speeds up.
- - No English, no commercial driving. Crackdown on truckers speeds up.
Trevor Hughes, USA TODAYAugust 21, 2025 at 8:02 PM
At least 3,000 truckers have been taken off American roads over the past two months 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 say consistent enforcement will improve road safety by ensuring drivers can read roadside signs, including message 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 Aug. 12 crash in Florida after pulling an illegal U-turn, colliding with a minivan. He then failed a roadside English proficiency test, federal officials said in a social media post calling him an illegal immigrant who should not have been licensed.
"Federal law is clear, a driver who cannot sufficiently read or 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 from roads are, in descending order, Texas, Tennessee, Wyoming, Iowa, and Arizona. Texas has removed nearly 350 drivers from the road, according to federal statistics.
CDL Student Adrian Green, 34, left, reacts to side swiping a truck on the $115,000 driving simulator as CDL Instructor Jose Rivera points out the accident during class Tuesday morning, August 21, 2018 at Marion Technical College. The college has launched its CDL school, a program that the Marion County School District hopes will lead to a pipeline of bus drivers in a time when there is a shortage. Students were just into their second day of class on their eight week long program that costs $4500.
Although some states allow drivers to take the written portion 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 to appear in a California court appearance Aug. 20.
Once on the road, truckers are also required to speak and read 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 reversed that decision as of June 25, requiring truckers to talk to inspectors without the use of smartphone 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 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.
The decision to strictly enforce the existing rule is part of a series of trucker-approved measures the Trump White House has recently taken, including a decision to eliminate mandatory speed controls on big rigs. Enforcement of the English-language rule is left up the 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 Associations Chief Operating Officer Dan Horvath told USA TODAY.
A reading test for road signs in English
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. Troopers found 379 violations last year, although those truckers were allowed to stay on the road.
Wyoming Highway Patrol Lt. 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. Wyoming is home to Interstates 80 and 25, which meet in Cheyenne, and the state sees heavy cross-country freight traffic despite its low population.
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. The questions include "Where did you start your day?" and "How long have you been driving today?" McKay said.
Harjinder Singh, right, listens to an interpreter translate the proceedings of his arraignment in Department 8C of the San Joaquin County courthouse in downtown Stockton on Aug. 19, 2025 on charges of killing 3 people while attempted an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike near Fort Pierce, Florida.
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. As part of its safety crackdown, the federal goverment is moving toward a requirement that medical paperwork be stored electronically to limit falsification. 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. "If a driver cannot read and comprehend highway signs, there's a good possibility that driver could get into a crash and hurt someone because they couldn’t read a sign that said 'road closed ahead' or 'left lane closed ahead.'"
McKay said he’s often seen drivers who appear to have memorized only the first six signs of the 37 that truckers are supposed to know by heart, or who try to guess what questions he's asking.
He said troopers who determine a driver can’t speak English will then help them wait for a replacement driver in a safe place, sometimes escorting them down the interstate to a rest stop or exit. Sometimes, the trucker simply drives off and the trooper has to decide whether it's worth taking them to jail.
McKay said troopers are aware that taking drivers off the roads impacts their earnings. Drivers who are removed from the cab for not speaking English can appeal the decision multiple times, he said. All interactions in Wyoming are video-recorded, and troopers work carefully to ensure that a heavy accent doesn't disqualify someone, he said.
"We understand that these are people who are trying to make a living for their families. We don't want to limit commerce and limit the driver's ability to make a living," McKay said. "But anytime you can take a driver off the roads who can't read simple road signs, you're going to make it safer."
Trucking companies, fake IDs are part of the problem
Unscrupulous trucking companies that knowingly hire unqualified drivers are part of the problem, McKay said. Some trucking companies have been struggling to hire because driver pay is low and the hours long, causing significant turnover.
"There's so much work and not enough drivers that companies are willing to take the risk," McKay said. "This costs everyone. Our insurance rates, the costs of goods. It affects everyone."
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 giving CDLs to drivers who aren't residents.
Big rigs parked at a truck stop await their drivers.
In Texas, Maj. Omar A. Villarreal of the Texas Highway Patrol is trying to bring more attention to fake licenses issued either in the United States or Mexico, which he said are at least as big of a problem as lack of English proficiency.
Villarreal said some American truck-driving schools can be bribed to issue CDLs to unqualified drivers. In other instances, he said, undocumented immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras and other countries are getting fake Mexican licenses, which they present as both a valid license and an authorization to work in the United States. The ATA has also expressed concern about how easy it is for unqualified drivers to get licenses.
"So, now you have that guy who never spent a day behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle, overnight he has the full credentials to drive a semi," Villarreal said. "If you have the money, you can get a license to drive a truck down the road and kill people."
Uneven enforcement, risk of racial profiling
Former trucker Adam Wingfield, who now works as an industry consultant, said he worries enforcement will be uneven around the country. California, for instance, has only issued one "out of service" violation to a driver for inability to understand English. He said he has the same concerns about English-language testing as he does about many other traffic violations.
Trucker James Rodgers drives his big rig across Wyoming to deliver a load of cleaning supplies to a warehouse in Salt Lake City.
"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 historical 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.
"Just because you're an American doesn't mean you're going to follow the rules," he said. "I know that there are cold-blooded Americans who I wouldn't trust with a set of keys."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump cracks down on commercial truckers who can't speak English
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