Although I studied Spanish in high school for a few years, I am far from fluent, but I can utter phrases like asking where the restroom is or ordering a beer—all the essentials. I would never consider myself a conversationalist or mildly communicative in a foreign language. This brings us to the recent news regarding a professional truck driver’s ability to be proficient in the English language.
As a nation, we do not have an official language; however, as an industry, we have regulations. More specifically, we have 49 CFR 391.11 (b)(2) that requires drivers to 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. Fairly cut and dry if you ask me.
Now, over the years, this regulation has been watered down, for what reasons we may never know. Technology such as smartphones and their corresponding apps was permitted for non-English speaking drivers, likely exacerbating the problem of effectively communicating with them. Adding fuel to the fire, states began implementing the written Commercial Driver’s License exam in different languages, skirting the issue of a clearly defined regulation.
I have said this once and will say it again: As an industry, we can never advocate for noncompliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. We can, however, debate the pros and cons of a regulation to the point where the regulatory process could intervene to determine the validity or impact of such a rule. This never happened, thus bringing our industry to where it is today.
The global economy has grown tremendously, and cross-border freight has increased. As an industry with a constant need for filling driver seats, the need arose for cross-border operations and recruiting drivers from other countries to operate commercial motor vehicles to deliver freight effectively.
This premise, unfortunately, resulted in unscrupulous actions in which questionable activities came into play. Whether it be fraudulent CDLs or purposeful hiring of foreign drivers at below-market rates and violating current trade agreements, these practices brought the matter to the attention of those in government, and appropriate actions are being taken to support an industry that does things the correct way.
See also: Trump orders crackdown on non-English-speaking CMV drivers
Skirting the regulations is a bad idea—no ifs, ands, or buts about it. To battle that, President Trump issued an executive order that called for a proficiency of the English language for America’s truck drivers, a necessity “to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers. Drivers must provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English.”
Indeed, an executive order is one thing, but enforcing it remains the more common question. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance took immediate action within its purview to discuss the issue and voted to make a lack of English proficiency part of the out-of-service criteria for truckers. Even the CDL test will be affected, as a driver who takes the test in a language other than English and receives a CDL will be immediately out of service.
The implementation of enforcement is the question that surrounds this issue today. What does it look like, and how is it standardized nationwide? New York practices must be the same as New Mexico, which must also be the same as Florida, placing the onus on the alliance to standardize them. We commend the alliance for acting in a manner that can only be described as purposeful and fast-paced.
Time will tell whether this order will have a significant impact. How many out-of-service orders will there be, and what will the overall safety impact be?
At a time when every regulation comes under question as it relates to the deregulation atmosphere that we are operating under, we will undoubtedly be paying attention to the outcomes of these out-of-service orders and how they play out in an industry that craves this enforcement action. The numbers bear watching, as will the results.
