When President Donald Trump issued an executive order mandating all truck drivers in the U.S. speak English or get put out of service, he called it a "commonsense" approach to safety.
Federal data on crashes and violations mined by Overdrive parent company Fusable's MC Advantage may have just proven him right. Motor carriers with an ELP violation on the record might be more dangerous -- and certainly are more crash-prone -- than those with speeding or even drug-and-alcohol violations.
Motor carriers with a violation of 391.11(b)2, the part of the Code of Federal Regulations that requires drivers "read and speak the English language sufficiently," have been involved in DOT-recordable crashes at about double the national average rate. To give some more context to the crash rate of ELP violators, MC Advantage also looked at other violations: Drug/alcohol violations and speeding.
MC Advantage analyzed FMCSA data for motor carriers that had a violation in the 12 months preceding June, 1, 2024, and then analyzed the crash rate per power unit for those carriers over the next year.
The result showed a stronger correlation between ELP violations and crashes than speeding and drug-and-alcohol violations. That places ELP as a strong predictor of crash incidence. Here's the results for small fleets of 1-5 trucks.
This analysis excluded fleets that had no inspections during the entire two-year window (June 1, 2023-June 1, 2025). It also excluded any company that operated buses.All data in this story: MC Advantage by Fusable
The crash rates for big fleets with ELP violations tell the same story. The chart below shows the results for fleets of 20-50 and 51-500 trucks.
These results may not come as a surprise to readers. As previously reported, 94% of respondents to Overdrive's recent survey voiced approval for the English language proficiency requirements.
Many commenters on the survey cited safety concerns as reasons for that support. "Let's face it, they are driving an 80,000-lb. missile on our highways," wrote one commenter, and if they lack basic English language skills, "our national security is at risk." Other commenters pointed to the need to read road signs, including programmable highway billboards announcing traffic slowdowns and road work.
Prior reporting also showed safety concerns from truck enforcers, with first-hand accounts from inspectors who noted they wouldn't get under a truck to conduct an inspection if the driver doesn't speak English. Groups from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association to the American Trucking Associations and Truck Safety Coalition, all often at odds on many issues, supported the return of ELP violations to the Out-Of-Service Criteria. The Laredo Motor Carriers Association, based in the U.S. capital of ELP violations, and the North American Punjabi Trucking Association also support the "ELP mandate" in the name of safety.
[Related: Biden, 'driver shortage' myth caused CDL-vetting 'crisis': Punjabi trucking association CEO]
MC Advantage's new crash-rate analysis follows Overdrive's report documenting the rapid rise of "non-domiciled CDLs" issued to non-citizens in the country with temporary work authorization. You can download the report via the form below to find non-domiciled CDL counts from most states, and CDL-issuance reporting from all 50.
