President Trump’s executive order enforcing English proficiency checks for truck drivers has gained overwhelming support from the trucking industry as fatalities from commercial vehicle crashes continue to rise nationwide.
Key Takeaways
- President Trump’s April 2025 executive order requires strict English proficiency checks for commercial truck drivers, reversing a 2016 policy that had relaxed requirements.
- The order targets drivers with questionable foreign-issued licenses and insufficient English skills, addressing industry concerns about road safety and wage suppression.
- Trucking organizations universally support the measure, with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance adding English proficiency to its out-of-service criteria.
- A new bill called “Connor’s Law” has been introduced to permanently codify these requirements, named after an 18-year-old killed by a truck driver who couldn’t read warning signs.
- Deaths and injuries from large truck crashes have been increasing since 2009, with several fatal accidents linked to drivers with limited English proficiency.
Industry Endorses Trump’s Safety Initiative
The trucking industry has united behind President Trump’s April 2025 executive order mandating English proficiency checks for commercial truck drivers operating on U.S. roads. The directive specifically targets operators using suspicious foreign-issued licenses or lacking adequate English language skills—loopholes that industry experts have long identified as serious threats to highway safety. This measure comes as a direct response to growing concerns that these inadequacies not only compromise road safety but also drive down wages for American truckers who must compete with foreign drivers often working for significantly lower pay.
“When you’re driving an 80,000-pound truck and you cannot read the road sign, ‘lane closed ahead,’ or ‘lane merging ahead,’ and you plow into stalled traffic at 80 miles per hour, entire families can be killed,” said Shannon Everett, spokesperson for American Truckers United, a grassroots advocacy group that has been highlighting the dangers posed by drivers with questionable credentials.
Reversing Previous Lax Policies
The executive order explicitly rescinds a 2016 policy that had relaxed English proficiency requirements for commercial drivers. In response to the new directive, the Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration are developing enhanced enforcement standards. Additionally, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has updated its regulations to include lack of English proficiency in its out-of-service criteria, meaning drivers failing to meet these standards can be immediately removed from service—a change widely applauded by safety advocates within the industry.
“This commonsense standard should have never been abandoned,” said Duffy, a longtime industry safety expert. “We have a rampant problem of fraudulent [commercial drivers licenses] coming out of these other countries who don’t have the same standards and checks and balances as the United States,” added Everett from American Truckers United.
Connor’s Law: Making Safety Requirements Permanent
Building on President Trump’s executive action, U.S. Representative Dave Taylor (R-Ohio) has introduced “Connor’s Law” in the House, legislation designed to permanently codify English proficiency requirements for truck drivers. The bill is named after Connor Dzion, an 18-year-old who was killed in 2017 by a truck driver who couldn’t read roadside warning signs. This tragic case highlights the real-world consequences of allowing drivers without adequate English skills to operate massive commercial vehicles on American highways.
“This is a big win for public safety, for truckers who share the road with other truck drivers, and the motoring public alike,” said James Lamb, Executive Director of the Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC), which lobbied for the introduction of the bill. “We applaud Congressman Taylor, all co-sponsors, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for their commitment and leadership in moving forward with SBTC’s proposed common sense, life-saving legislation to make the roads safe again.”
Addressing Real Safety Concerns
The push for stricter language requirements comes as federal statistics show that deaths and injuries from large truck crashes have been rising steadily since 2009. Several high-profile fatal accidents have been linked directly to drivers with limited English proficiency who misunderstood road signs or couldn’t effectively communicate with safety personnel. The executive order also mandates stronger verification policies for driver’s licenses issued by both U.S. states and foreign governments, addressing concerns about fraudulent credentials that allow unqualified drivers behind the wheels of commercial vehicles.
The new requirements specify that commercial driver’s license applicants must demonstrate sufficient English proficiency to converse with the public, understand highway traffic signs, respond to official inquiries, and make necessary entries on reports and records. Drivers found non-compliant during roadside inspections will be immediately placed out of service. This comprehensive approach has garnered support from major industry organizations including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the American Trucking Associations, and numerous grassroots trucking groups representing drivers across the country.
