After sidelining 26,000 truck drivers, FMCSA seeks to lock in English rules

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is pushing to make English-language proficiency enforcement a permanent part of federal trucking regulations, potentially making it harder for future administrations or enforcement organizations to reverse the requirement. U. S. Transportation Secretary Sean P.

Duffy announced Friday that FMCSA is proposing to codify guidelines requiring commercial drivers who cannot sufficiently read or speak English or understand highway traffic signs and signals to be placed out of service.

The Department of Transportation said more than 26,000 commercial drivers have already been placed out of service for failing English-language proficiency, or ELP, requirements since the Trump administration reinstated strict enforcement.

“Federal law is clear, drivers who can’t read or speak English — our national language — or understand road signs are unqualified to operate 80,000-pound big rigs on America’s highways,” Duffy said in a statement. “By making these commonsense English proficiency standards permanent, we are closing a dangerous loophole that has cost Americans their lives.”

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enableSingleRequest(); googletag. pubads(). collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag. enableServices(); }); googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag. display('div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0'); }); DOT said the proposal would also establish a nationwide standard so states apply the same out-of-service requirement.

The proposed rule could have particular implications for cross-border trucking. According to DOT, the proposal addresses enforcement involving drivers operating between Mexico and the U. S. , including circumstances under which drivers who fail an English-language evaluation must be placed out of service before traveling beyond the commercial border zone.

Land Line reported that drivers operating outside the U. S. -Mexico border zone who fail to satisfy federal English-language requirements would be placed out of service.

Drivers operating exclusively within the border zone, however, would not be placed out of service unless inspectors have evidence that they have operated or intend to operate beyond the zone. The proposal does not specify how long an ELP-related out-of-service order would remain in effect.

The distinction is significant because Mexico-based carriers and drivers are permitted to conduct certain cross-border operations within designated commercial zones along the southern border. The Houston-based Professional Trucking Association Group said Sunday that it supports standardized English-language proficiency requirements. window.

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pubads(). collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag. enableServices(); }); googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag. display('div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0'); }); “Standardizing English-language proficiency for Class A CDL holders is a fundamental safety requirement, not an unnecessary barrier,” PTAG said in a Facebook post.

The organization said drivers need sufficient English skills to read road signs and traffic alerts and communicate with police, inspectors and emergency responders. PTAG said permanent proficiency standards would promote “consistent operational safety, accountability, and fairness across the entire national supply chain.”

The notice of proposed rulemaking opens a public comment period before FMCSA can issue a final rule.

Why it matters: Codifying English-language proficiency as a federally mandated out-of-service violation could make one of the Trump administration’s most consequential trucking enforcement policies harder to reverse while potentially affecting thousands of drivers and cross-border freight operations. window. googletag = window.

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collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag. enableServices(); }); googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag. display('div-gpt-ad-1709668086344-0'); }); The post After sidelining 26,000 truck drivers, FMCSA seeks to lock in English rules appeared first on FreightWaves.