CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy signed an order on Tuesday requiring commercial truck drivers to be fluent in English.
Under the new guidance, drivers who fail to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's English-language proficiency requirements will be placed out of service.
The Transportation Secretary's order builds on President Trump's April executive order outlining the policy. It rescinded a mandate from former President Obama that prevented enforcement officers from placing non-English speaking drivers out of service.
The Trump administration said that the new requirement will ensure drivers are able to read and understand traffic signs; communicate with traffic safety officers, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station personnel while providing and receiving feedback and directions in English.
Duffy insists this will make the country's roads safer.
"There's numerous examples across the country where we've had people who are operating this kind of equipment who can't speak the language," said Duffy. "And the results have been devastating and have taken the lives of so many American families that's going to end right now."
