A long overdue correction
Common sense has returned with the English requirement for commercial licenses. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the rule as part of President Donald Trump's push to improve safety and remove unqualified drivers from the roads.
Truckers and bus drivers must now take their commercial driver's license exams in English to read road signs, speak with law enforcement, complete logs, and respond to emergencies without confusion.
Related: Another Illegal Alien Truck Driver Causes Fatal Crash, This Time in Indiana
Federal law has long required English proficiency for commercial drivers. Yet many states allowed applicants to take knowledge exams in other languages while still claiming to enforce English standards.
That language gap undercuts the rule from the start.
English rule ends the old bypass
Let me know if this sounds familiar, but California does things differently; it offers CDL knowledge tests in 20 different languages. Other states hired third-party companies to administer exams that often skipped meaningful checks on both driving skills and language ability. States bear responsibility for verifying English proficiency before issuing licenses. Law enforcement officers were supposed to confirm that ability during roadside inspections.
Instead, the system was allowed to drift for decades; a driver could pass a translated written test, receive a CDL, and operate an 80,000-pound tractor-trailer on highways where every road sign, emergency alert, and officer instruction appears in English.
That contradiction speaks for itself.
Federal sweeps exposed the problem
Recent federal inspections pulled back the curtain. Inspectors looked at 8,215 drivers during an enforcement effort and removed nearly 500 from service for insufficient English proficiency. California initially resisted stricter enforcement rules but later removed over 600 drivers from its highways.
The numbers show the scale of the issue; a driver may demonstrate technical skill behind the wheel. If that driver can't read a construction detour sign or understand a state trooper's instructions during a roadside emergency, it erodes public safety.
Fatal crashes made the stakes clear
Two deadly wrecks sharpened the debate. In August, an unauthorized driver from Kyrgyzstan made an illegal U-turn in Florida, killing three people. In February, a crash in Indiana claimed four lives from an Amish community. Investigators tied both incidents to drivers who shouldn't have held valid CDLs.
President Trump signed an executive order in April 2025 that directed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to enforce English-proficiency standards and scrap the weakened 2016 guidance. The order made language ability a non-negotiable safety requirement.
Broader cleanup targets fraud and neglect
The English requirement forms one part of a larger reform effort; the DOT ordered 557 driving schools to close after they failed basic safety checks. Regulators moved against chameleon carriers that rebranded under new names to dodge enforcement. Some companies paid a small registration fee for years, showed proof of insurance, and operated with little oversight.
Duffy stated that Americans deserve to feel safe when sharing the road with commercial vehicles, a sentiment that cuts across political lines. Every family traveling on an interstate depends on competent professionals in the cab driving next to them.
How the system drifted off course
Federal regulators have always required drivers to speak and read English well enough to interpret signs, talk with officers, and complete driving logs. However, enforcement grew inconsistent; activist groups framed English requirements as discriminatory, some states treated the mandate as optional, and third-party testers relaxed standards.
The result placed unqualified operators behind the wheel of trucks capable of causing catastrophic harm. As the number of fatal crashes mounted, public trust eroded because of lagging enforcement.
Duffy stepped up and demanded adherence to the existing rule. States now face pressure to comply or risk losing federal transportation funding. Drivers who can't demonstrate English proficiency won't qualify for a CDL.
The reform addresses a foundational requirement rather than a peripheral issue.
Americans need trucks to deliver food, fuel, and medicine. Safety begins with communication, and when a driver can't understand the language of the road, the risk multiplies.
The English-only test restores a baseline standard that should've remained intact from the beginning. One rule enforced consistently can prevent tragedies measured in lives.
Not statistics.
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