Previous FMCSA standards included English proficiency as a standard for commercial vehicle operation, but enforcers rarely interpreted the rule to be out-of-service criteria. Over the last four years of FMCSA roadside inspections, poor English proficiency accounted for only 0.16% of all inspection violations.

Three days after the order, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance added English language proficiency to its out-of-service criteria. The move by the nonprofit directs inspectors to prohibit drivers who cannot “speak the English language sufficiently” from operating a commercial motor vehicle. Since 2014, CVSA has directed inspectors not to place drivers out of service exclusively for their English proficiency. 

Trump’s order came one month after ATA officially voiced support for a crackdown on the illegal use of foreign truck drivers.