After a months-long game of chicken, California Gov. Gavin Newsom agreed to enforce English language proficiency tests for truck drivers, the U.S. Department of Transportation confirmed Friday.
The department withheld more than $40 million in funding from the state last October, citing California’s failure to implement longstanding requirements for truck drivers to demonstrate English proficiency, including understanding traffic signs and communicating with law enforcement.
The backstory: The issue of English proficiency in commercial drivers gained national attention following a deadly crash on the Florida Turnpike involving a California-licensed truck driver who, according to the DOT, did not speak English and failed a language assessment. The driver answered only two out of 12 verbal questions correctly and identified just one of four highway signs.
- President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April mandating strict enforcement of English proficiency for truckers. Drivers who failed the tests were temporarily disqualified from the road.
- State law enforcement agencies are now required to check drivers for English proficiency during routine traffic stops.
- The DOT said it is working to unfreeze the withheld funding as California implements the new requirements.
Driving the news: The California Highway Patrol began quietly testing for English language proficiency in mid-January, according to San Francisco’s KRON, which reported that officers have conducted on-site assessments during stops.
What they’re saying: “I shouldn’t have had to threaten to withhold millions in funding for California to come to their senses and enforce the law,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told The California Post. “For those who said we’re playing politics—our efforts have gotten real results for the American people.”
- “If states had followed the rules, this driver would never have been behind the wheel and three precious lives would still be with us,” Duffy said in a statement at the time.
