President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order on returning English language proficiency to the out-of-service criteria, investigating states issuing CDLs to foreign citizens, and bringing down the regulatory burden on truckers.
The executive order, entitled "Enforcing Commonsense Rules of The Road For America’s Truck Driver," sets out three broad goals.
- Instructing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to restore violations of the English language proficiency requirement, codified in 49 CFR 391.11(b)(2), to the out of service (OOS) violation category and issue new guidance within 60 days on revised inspection procedures necessary for enforcement.
- Review state issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to foreign citizens for “any unusual patterns or numbers or other irregularities” and also “improve effectiveness” in spotting fake commercial driver credentials.
- Carrying out “additional administrative, regulatory, or enforcement actions to improve the working conditions of America’s truck drivers” by easing regulatory burdens, also directed to happen within 60 days.
“Federal law is clear, a driver who cannot sufficiently read or speak English -- our native language -- and understand road signs is unqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle in America,” Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a press release announcing the move on Monday.
Duffy and Trump’s executive order both refer to enforcing English language proficiency as “common sense.” Moving English language proficiency from the OOS criteria came after the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's North American membership voted on the issue in 2015. FMCSA the following year relaxed enforcement guidance around English-proficiency violations.
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FMCSA “has documented cases of drivers whose inability to read our signs and speak our language contributed to fatal accidents,” the DOT press release said, listing several fatal incidents caused by truck drivers who could not speak English.
The executive order comes after FMCSA officials at the Mid-America Trucking Show were peppered with questions about English language proficiency and foreign drivers, with FMCSA leadership saying those were “live issues.”
Arkansas earlier this month passed a state bill imposing penalties on commercial drivers who lack English language proficiency that was backed by the Arkansas Trucking Association and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
[Related: Arkansas to fine drivers $500 if they can't speak English proficiently]
OOIDA in March petitioned the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance to put English language proficiency back in the OOS criteria, and CVSA told Overdrive it would discuss the petition at the ongoing Workshop meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. CVSA, an international group made up of 70 member organizations from three countries as well as plenty of trucking industry members, typically puts petitions to a vote.
It's unclear how an executive order from a U.S. president might impact the actions of an international alliance like CVSA, to whom FMCSA typically defers on the out of service criteria, but President Trump's order seeks to make it clear that "English is a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers" in the United States.
Drivers "should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety officers, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station personnel, and provide and receive feedback and directions in English,” the order notes.
As part of the EO, Trump directs Secretary Duffy “to rescind and replace guidance to strengthen inspection procedures for compliance with English proficiency requirements."
The EO "mandates revising out-of-service criteria to ensure drivers violating English proficiency rules are placed out of service, enhancing roadway safety," the order continues.
[Related: Truck drivers' English language proficiency: The inspections problem]
Before FMCSA relaxed enforcement guidance in 2016, RigDig Business Intelligence's mining of federal data for Overdrive's CSA's Data Trail series often showed multiple tens of thousands of English-language violations logged annually by inspectors. FMCSA's Analysis and Information website today illustrates an apparent fall-off of enforcement -- between 7,800 and 10,000 English-language violations for years 2021 through 2024. None of those would be out of service violations for the driver under current OOS rules.
Owner-operator Lisa Schmitt, who team-drives with her husband Lee, a longtime Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration petitioner who waged a recent campaign to lead the agency, expected the order would have a "huge effect on safety. Stopping trucks to enforce English will get more unsafe drivers off the road," said Schmitt.
OOIDA applauded the administration's move, with President Todd Spencer saying the organization "strongly supports President Trump’s decision to resume enforcement of English proficiency requirements for commercial drivers.
"Basic English skills are essential for reading critical road signs, understanding emergency instructions, and interacting with law enforcement. Road signs save lives -- but only when they’re understood."
Spencer added the executive order was a "welcome step toward restoring a common-sense safety standard.”
Shannon Everett, co-founder of the American Truckers United group, who petitioned FMCSA for the return of 391.11(b)(2) to the OOS criteria, was similarly thankful for the move, he said. "This will be a huge step forward in protecting our roadways."
The American Trucking Associations' VP of Regulatory & Safety Policy Dan Horvath also thanked the Trump administration for "responding to our concerns on the uneven application of this existing regulation," expressing hope for an "objective, consistent, and effective enforcement standard.”
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