Trump Moves to Restrict Truck Driver Eligibility with English Proficiency Requirements

NEW JERSEY - On Monday, April 28, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order titled "Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers," directing the Department of Transportation (DOT) to rescind a 2016 guidance issued under the Obama administration concerning English language proficiency (ELP) enforcement for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

The 2016 guidance, issued by the FMCSA under the Obama administration, clarified that while federal regulations require CMV drivers to read and speak English sufficiently to meet certain functional needs, enforcement should focus on safety-critical communication rather than subjective assessments of conversational fluency. Specifically, inspectors were advised not to place drivers out of service based solely on their inability to engage in casual conversation if they could demonstrate the ability to understand traffic signs, respond to official inquiries, and complete necessary documentation. The guidance emphasized fair and consistent enforcement practices, aiming to reduce arbitrary or discriminatory application of the English proficiency standard.

The new executive order, citing “traffic safety” concerns, mandates immediate action by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to revise the Obama era guidance and encourage state and federal enforcement personnel to place drivers out of service if they are found to lack this subjective conversational English proficiency – contrary to both the 2016 guidance and federal law. The Department also announced plans to review non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) for irregularities.

According to the executive order, "Proficiency in English, which I designated as our official national language in Executive Order 14224 of March 1, 2025, should be a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers."

The executive order stems from misleading and unfounded claims that previous policies endangered roadway safety. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy stated, "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. This commonsense standard should have never been abandoned."

Of course, the standard never was abandoned. The Obama administration simply clarified that lack of conversational English proficiency is not grounds for dismissal of commercial truck drivers if the driver demonstrates an ability to understand and follow traffic signs and guidelines and respond to official inquiries.

"The absence of an ability to speak in English is not an indication that the individual cannot read and write in English sufficiently to communicate with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records." - FMCSA (2016 guidance), originally meant to support drivers with hearing impairments.

The move follows a series of fatal accidents cited by DOT officials, including a 2019 crash where a semi-truck driver, allegedly unable to understand warning signs, caused a multi-vehicle collision, and a 2025 incident in West Virginia involving a driver who required an interpreter post-crash. In neither case did federal crash investigators attribute the primary cause of the crash to English proficiency.

Furthermore, the FMCSA's own Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) found that 88% of crashes involving large trucks were attributable to driver behavior issues such as speeding, fatigue, impairment, and distraction. Language barriers were not identified as a primary factor. Similarly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) does not list English proficiency as a significant or frequent cause of commercial vehicle crashes.

The FMCSA regulation referenced, 49 CFR § 391.11(b)(2), requires that CMV drivers "read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records." The 2016 guidance clarified enforcement practices, advising inspectors not to disqualify drivers based solely on limited conversational English skills if they demonstrated the ability to meet these functional requirements. The FMCSA stated, "The inability to engage in casual conversation with an enforcement officer during a roadside inspection, standing alone, does not constitute a violation."

Further, while the executive order asserts that English is the nation's "official" language, no federal law currently designates any official language. The Congressional Research Service has repeatedly noted that while some states have passed English-only laws, the United States at the federal level remains without an official language – an executive order has no authority to instate such a law.

Data also indicate that immigrant and non-domiciled CDL holders perform as safely, if not more safely, than native-born drivers. A 2011 study by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences showed recent immigrants had a 40-50% lower annual risk of being involved in a crash compared to long-term residents. A 2017 Stanford University study found that “providing driver’s licenses to unauthorized immigrants in California improves traffic safety.” Additionally, a 2020 study by the University of California Transportation Research Center found that immigrant truck drivers had comparable or lower crash rates than their native-born counterparts.

The Trump administration’s executive order directs the Department of Transportation to coordinate with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance to update out-of-service criteria related to English proficiency violations and to begin identifying additional administrative actions to "improve the working conditions of America’s truck drivers" within 60 days. This move will no doubt limit the number of qualified truck drivers, weaken the size and strength of the work force, and slow down transportation-based shipping methods for consumers.

As implementation proceeds, industry groups and civil rights organizations are expected to monitor the impact of the policy shift, particularly regarding concerns over potential discrimination against immigrant drivers and the practical effects on driver supply and roadway safety.

The Department of Transportation has announced it will publish the executive order in the Federal Register, with funding allocated to support its dissemination.

In summary, despite the statements made by Trump’s executive order, the Obama Administration never abandoned the legal requirement on English language proficiency (ELP). Very little data directly ties vehicle accidents, commercial truck drivers or not, to ELP violations – instead accidents are caused overwhelmingly by speeding, fatigue, impaired driving, and distracted driving and have no relation to English proficiency. The United States of America has no official language, an executive order does not change this fact unless Congress passes a law. FMCSA regulations already require drivers to understand and adhere to road signs and respond to official inquiries but does not require conversational or native-like fluency – a driver with limited English proficiency may still qualify if they meet the basic standards to safely operate a motor vehicle and obey signs and traffic laws. Finally, targeting non-domicile CDL holders is not necessary for safety, as shown by numerous independent studies, and is a racially biased implication and risks discriminatory profiling.

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