Blog #170 NO ENGLISH? NO LICENSE!
Anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 truck drivers have been taken off U.S. highways since June because they can’t speak English or read traffic signs. RKC Logistics reports nearly 300,000 truckers may be noncompliant with government English proficiency standards for truckers—that’s 10% of the 3.5M truckers in the U.S.
There is no data or tracking on how many truckers nationwide are illegal aliens.
19 U.S. states and DC give drivers licenses to illegal aliens, who can then upgrade them to get a commercial license to drive a truck. But those states don’t fully vet if they can read English or traffic signs.
That means they are driving 40-ton trucks but can’t read traffic signs, in violation of the law. Truckers at highway speeds need 400–500 feet to stop. If a driver can’t read a traffic sign, and doesn’t recognize a warning sign, a crash will occur.
President Trump’s June executive order now enforces English proficiency standards for truckers. Former President Barack Obama had suspended enforcement of English proficiency standards in 2016, letting truckers who can’t speak English or read traffic signs stay on the road by instead using things like smartphone translation apps or GPS.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio just stopped worker visas for commercial truck drivers after California and Washington state gave a commercial trucking license to an illegal alien now charged with killing three people in that deadly U-turn crash in Florida. He could only read one out of 4 traffic signs and could only answer just 2 out of 12 English verbal questions.
But he’s not the only one.
Earlier this year, for example, truck driver Sukhjinder Singh jackknifed his truck in the icy Cheat Lake Bridge crash in West Virginia, causing a fatal crash that killed a man. This incident was tied to his not being able to speak English.
And a Cuban-born driver, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, lost brake control of his truck near Lakewood, CO in 2019, causing a massive crash, multiple fires and explosions that killed four and involved 28 vehicles. A translator was needed during legal proceedings.
- Elizabeth MacDonald