On Aug. 12, an undocumented immigrant driving a semi-truck blocked four northbound lanes on the Florida Turnpike when he allegedly attempted to make an illegal U-turn from the shoulder through an “Official Use Only” turnaround in the median. As he attempted this unpredictable move, three people in a minivan were killed crashing into his truck.
If he had read and obeyed the “Official Use Only” sign, this tragic accident would not have occurred. Apparently, the problem was that he couldn’t read English. When officers with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration gave him an English Language Proficiency test after the accident, he was only able to give a correct response to two of 12 verbal questions, and he could only identify one out of four highway traffic signs.
This driver should not have been driving a commercial vehicle at all. Federal regulations governing qualifications for driving a commercial vehicle provide that drivers must be able to “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 record.”
This is particularly important for semi-truck drivers. A fully loaded semi can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds; most of them are between 70 and 80 feet long. Collisions between such large vehicles and cars are likely to be deadly. More than 4,000 people died in large truck crashes in 2023, and 65 percent of them were in cars and other passenger vehicles.
As Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.) has said, “If you can’t read ‘Bridge Out Ahead’ or communicate with a state trooper at a crash scene, you have no business driving an 80,000-pound truck on American highways.” Harrigan has introduced a SAFE Drivers Act last month, which would require all applicants for commercial driver’s licenses to show English proficiency.
Even so, the English proficiency regulations have to be enforced to be effective, and some administrations have not enforced them.
The Obama administration issued a memorandum in June 2016, that removed the requirement to put non-English proficient drivers out of service. Moreover, it also provided that “If the driver cannot read, write, or speak English but can communicate sufficiently with the inspector / investigator, he / she should not be cited for a violation.”
President Trump wants stricter enforcement of the English proficiency requirements for commercial truck drivers. In April 2025, he issued an executive order titled “Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers,” in which he declared that commercial truck drivers must comply with federal law on English proficiency. It is the policy of his administration to support truck drivers and safeguard our highways by enforcing these commonsense requirements.
But enforcement of commercial vehicle regulations won’t eliminate the risks posed by non-commercial drivers who cannot read or understand English. Apparently, the states aren’t concerned about non-commercial drivers who can’t read English. Only three of the 50 states require all driver’s license applicants to take the written part of the exam in English: South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
Every driver — commercial or not — should be able to read English traffic signs, detour notices and highway warnings, and be able to respond to law enforcement or first-responder instructions. Though accidents with an 80,000-pound truck are likely to be more serious than accidents with a 3,000-pound Honda sedan, people die in collisions with Honda sedans and other passenger vehicles, too.
A national road environment requires a common language, and English is America’s national language. Using a single language simplifies signage, emergency instructions and law-enforcement communication. After a collision, drivers must know English well enough to exchange information, report locations to 911 operators, and understand instructions given by first-responders. They also should be able to understand instructions given in English when a disaster occurs.
It isn’t necessary to establish a categorical “English-only” requirement that might raise discrimination issues under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Drivers of passenger vehicles only need safety-related English proficiency, such as being able to read and understand highway signs and standard traffic-controlled messages.
Granting driver’s licenses to immigrants who cannot read or communicate in the English language invites preventable tragedies like the one that killed three innocent people in a mini-van — regardless of whether they drive commercial or passenger vehicles.
Nolan Rappaport was detailed to the House Judiciary Committee as an Executive Branch Immigration Law Expert for three years. He subsequently served as an immigration counsel for the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims for four years. Prior to working on the Judiciary Committee, he wrote decisions for the Board of Immigration Appeals for 20 years.
