The Department of Transportation, led by Secretary Sean Duffy, announced it will withhold $40 million in funding from California due to the state’s failure to enforce English language requirements for commercial truck drivers.
These rules, which took effect in June 2024 following a Trump administration executive order, mandate truckers demonstrate English proficiency to ensure safety on the roads.
Driving the news: An investigation was launched after a fatal crash on August 12 north of West Palm Beach, Florida, involving truck driver Harjinder Singh who made an illegal U-turn leading a minivan to collide with his trailer, killing three people.
- Singh, who was licensed in California and had passed a commercial driver’s license process there, reportedly failed an English proficiency test after the crash; his immigration status became a focal point in the political controversy.
- Singh is being held without bond and charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations, though his lawyer has declined to comment.
State of play: California officials defended their licensing practices, highlighting that its commercial truck drivers have a crash rate lower than the national average.
- However, Duffy pointed to about 34,000 truck inspections in California since the language rules took effect, where only one inspection resulted in a driver being removed from service for English violations, and 23 drivers with violations in other states were allowed to continue driving in California.
- The federal Transportation Department requires California to adopt regulations enforcing the English language rules, including testing truckers’ English skills during roadside inspections and taking drivers who fail these tests out of service to reinstate withheld funding.
What we’re watching: Duffy also warned of an additional $160 million funding cut pending California’s approach to issuing commercial driver’s licenses, following federal restrictions enacted last month.
Flashback: California maintains that Singh held a valid work permit and was legally in the country at the time of the license issuance in July 2024, supported by evidence of Singh communicating effectively with law enforcement during earlier traffic stops.
- Contrarily, Duffy and Florida authorities assert Singh entered the U.S. illegally through Mexico in 2018, intensifying the immigration-related dimension of the controversy.
What they’re saying: “California is the only state in the nation that refuses to ensure big rig drivers can read our road signs and communicate with law enforcement,” Duffy said. “This is a fundamental safety issue that impacts you and your family on America’s road.”
