- Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Transport secretary Sean Duffy says they are reversing the “dangerous Obama-era policy” that dropped the English language proficiency requirement for drivers
By: India Weekly
US president Donald Trump has made it mandatory for truck drivers in America to be proficient in English, but a Sikh advocacy groups feels it will adversely impact the future of Sikh commercial vehicle drivers.
The executive order ‘Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers’ says that proficiency in English “should be a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers.
“They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers,” the order issued on Monday (28) said.
It also pointed out that drivers need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English.
However, the report lamented that the authorities over the last few years have been lax in enforcing English proficiency requirement, and America’s roadways have become less safe.
The order directs transport secretary Sean Duffy to introduce new testing and enforcement to that effect. A failure to comply with Duffy’s new rules will render drivers “out-of-service.”
Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group, has said it is “deeply concerned” about Trump’s order as the community has a substantial presence in the American trucking industry.
As per estimates by The Economist, approximately 150,000 Sikhs work in the trucking industry, 90 per cent of whom are drivers.
The coalition said the community has played a vital role in alleviating the shortage of drivers and more than 30,000 Sikh drivers joined the industry between 2016 and 2018.
The group said it is still working with partners to better understand the “legal implications and implementation process” of the order.
“However, we are concerned that it could have a discriminatory impact on Sikh truck drivers and create unnecessary barriers to employment for qualified individuals,” it said.
The executive order said that within 60 days Duffy shall identify and begin carrying out additional administrative, regulatory, or enforcement actions to improve the working conditions of America’s truck drivers.
Duffy announced that the agency is taking steps to rescind the “dangerous Obama-era policy” that dismissed English language proficiency (ELP) requirements for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.
“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,” Duffy said.
“This Department will always put America’s truck drivers first,” he added.
The Department of Transportation said that Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations provide that a driver unable to sufficiently read or speak English or understand highway traffic signs and signals is not qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle.
However, in 2016, the Obama administration directed inspectors not to place CMV drivers out of service for violations of the ELP requirements.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has documented cases where drivers’ inability to read road signs and speak English may have contributed to fatal accidents, it said.
