Truck drivers weigh in on Trump’s executive order requiring English proficiency – NBC Los Angeles
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Several truck drivers across the nation are facing a new roadblock following President Donald Trump’s executive order for all commercial drivers to be proficient in English.
At a rest stop in Jurupa Valley, truck drivers from all over weighed in on the president’s new policy. Some commercial drivers, who didn’t want to go on camera, said the policy is racist and targets a select group of drivers. But others told NBCLA it is a safety issue and not speaking English is a big barrier on the roads.
“I’ve seen a lot of drivers that they probably don’t see the signs or can’t read the signs about the speed or can’t be on the third lane. You see when they cross in front of you,” said Xiomara Diaz, who has been driving semi-trucks for nearly a decade.
From the Inland Empire to Los Angeles, truck drivers say communication is crucial when they are behind the wheel of an oversized truck with heavy cargo.
“It can be very difficult but in this country we have a lot of benefits like going to school and learn English for free. It’s a beautiful benefit in this country. Anything is possible,” said Craig Stein, a truck driver.
The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says they have documented cases where drivers’ inability to read signs and speak the language may have contributed to a series of fatal accidents.
“Federal law is clear, a driver who cannot sufficiently read or speak English—our national language—and understand road signs is unqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle in America,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in regards to the new policy.
For Diaz, she hopes the new change will improve safety on the road.
“I understand we came to another country and we have to adapt to the new rules and cultures,” said Diaz. “We try like with a child with signs or like in school when you don’t speak the same language, we try to communicate.”
The executive order aims to enforce a requirement that already existed for commercial drivers. It follows another one of the president’s executive orders, where he designated English as the official language of the United States.
The Transportation Department has 60 days to issue new guidance that would place those drivers who don’t read or speak English out of service.
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