“The United States cannot have a functional economy where all the gains go to the corporate class while all the pain goes to regular workers.” – James P. Hoffa.
Since the early 1900s, states across America have been requiring people who choose to operate a motor vehicle to obtain a drivers license. Although literacy is not, technically, a legal requirement, for getting a personal driver’s license, it always has been a prerequisite for obtaining a commercial license for truck drivers – as it should be. Its perilous to drive any motor vehicle without a fluent command of the English language. It can be fatal for truck drivers. It’s always fatal for motor cars.
Before the turn of the 20th century, most freight was moved by train or horse-drawn carriage. But with the emergence of gas-powered engines, trucking began to take hold in urban areas for deliveries and light freight hauling. The tractor trailer, invented by Alexander Winton in 1897, was able to carry a large load, unlike older trucks that required multiple trips with each trip carrying less.
By 1910, there were over 5,000 trucks on American roads with 15 American freight companies used for deliveries. In 1920, they dominated deliveries in major cities and states. By 1937, there were nearly 500,000 trucks operating nationwide and they carried two billion tons of freight annually – about 40% of total industrial output plus various seasonal national agricultural product deliveries.
Since 1887, the U.S. government has been regulating the prices and free competition in interstate transportation when Congress created the ICC, Interstate Commerce Commission, to regulate the railroads. Fifty years later, truckers were included in the ICC with the passage of The Motor Carrier Act of 1935. Motor carriers have been federally regulated in some fashion since way back in 1935.
These regulations applied to operating fees, tariffs and filing out reports, not truck industry safety.
According to the American Trucking Association, about 625 truckers die each year. Of the nearly 5,000 people who die each year in crashes involving trucks, 17% are in the truck at the time of the accident. A trucker is most likely to die in an accident if the accident involves two or more trucks. About 5% more people died in truck accidents last year, an increase of 1.8%. Truck occupant deaths accounted for 17% of driver deaths and 66% of the fatalities were in passenger vehicles.
The first federal truck safety rules were issued in 1936 to improve the safety for passenger cars and truckers, when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) was established. The agency’s mission was to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks, buses and cars. They set standards for the operation of commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce.
Considered one of the most important requirements for truck drivers was the English proficiency clause for commercial motor vehicle operators. Under 49 CFR §391.11(b)(2), drivers must be able to “read and speak English sufficiently to converse with the general public, understand highway traffic signs and signals, respond to official inquiries, and make entries on reports and records.”
For decades, roadside inspectors cited drivers for violating this rule, with the authority to place noncompliant drivers out of service. By 2014, English proficiency violations were a routine part of commercial enforcement activities across the U.S. That year, inspectors issued more than 101,000 for lack of English proficiency. Over 4,000 drivers were placed out of service and weren’t missed.
In 2014, Barack Obama, working with the Teamsters, partnered with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to downgrade the English proficiency rule. They left the regulation intact, but inspectors could not cite drivers for violating the English language clause. Drivers were warned, but were allowed to continue operating their trucks.
After the drop in English proficiency citations, not one driver was placed out of service. Between 2017 and 2024, only 7,800 citations were issued. Today, the FMCSA has a backlog of cases where a trucker’s lack of English proficiency caused a substantial increase in fatal truck-car accidents.
Citing the increase in fatal accidents involving trucks in the past eight years, to enhance safety on America’s roadways, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 28 requiring commercial truck drivers to demonstrate proficiency of the English language. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the change in law shows this administration’s desire to increase road safety.
During a news conference, Duffy said, “I agree with President Trump. Federal law is clear: a driver who cannot sufficiently read or speak English, our national language, or understand road signs is unqualified to drive a commercial vehicle in America.”
The trucking industry welcomed President Trump’s directive. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), representing approximately 150,000 truckers, strongly endorsed the decision. Industry leaders emphasize that English proficiency is fundamental for drivers to read critical road signs, emergency instructions, and to communicate during traffic stops or checkpoints.
OOIDA President Todd Spencer said that he and his 150,000 members proudly, strongly support President Trump’s decision to resume enforcement of the English proficiency clause for commercial drivers. He continued, “Basic English skills are essential for understanding emergency instructions, reading critical signs, and interacting with law enforcement at check points and scale stops.” He said, “The Obama administration made a dangerous mistake that compromised highway safety.”
Transportation Secretary Duffy will provide new guidelines to ensure compliance in all jurisdictions. The change represents a return to the letter and intent of federal law, since drivers have always been required to validate English proficiency for written and practical tests conducted in English.
The enforcement of language clause is not merely bureaucratic – it’s a matter of life and death on U.S. highways. Commercial vehicles can weigh up to 80,000 pounds and can present significant hazards when drivers are unable to read signage or communicate effectively on and off the road.
The English proficiency clause has long been required for drivers to ensure the safety of truck drivers and motor cars. Despite this existing law, Obama nullified its enforcement through policy memoranda, which increased fatalities for truck drivers and people driving passenger cars.
“I recognize that America’s truck drivers are essential to the strength of our economy, the security of our Nation, and the livelihoods of our people. I believe that English is a non-negotiable safety requirement for commercial drivers, to protect them and passenger car drivers.” – Donald Trump
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
