Non-English speaking truck drivers to be removed from US roads
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President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 28, 2025, calling on non-English speaking truck drivers to lose their truck driving privileges. Americans and legal residents must pass a written and driving test before getting a driver’s license. Being able to read and follow traffic signs and signals forms a big part of passing the exam. However, what about those individuals who cannot read or understand English? American truckers have complained about the dangers posed by foreign truck drivers who do not speak or understand English. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will put Trump’s plan into action.
From NBC News:
He recalled classmates from Iran who didn’t speak English fluently but still passed their exams. “Nobody could understand them, but they passed,” he said.
They and other truck drivers will now be subject to roadside English proficiency tests. On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy officially signed a directive for his department to take truck drivers off the road if they are not fluent in English. The directive puts into effect an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on April 28.
Trump’s order changes the penalty for violations of the law, which for decades has required that, as a qualification to be a commercial motor vehicle driver, a person must “read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.”
The Obama administration had relaxed the penalty from taking drivers off the road to being issued a citation.
“We are issuing guidance that ensures a driver who cannot understand English will not drive a vehicle in this country. Period. Full stop,” Duffy said in a news conference in Austin, Texas, the state with the highest number of heavy truck and tractor-trailer truck drivers.
Additional Reading:
Louis, F. P., & Gamboa, S. (2025, May 20). DOT confirms Trump order to get truck drivers who aren’t proficient in English off the road. NBC News. Link.
Category: Donald Trump, Society
