WASHINGTON — The Trump Administration is stopping more than 100 truck driving schools from operating, accusing the schools of giving Commercial Driver’s Licenses to people who do not speak English.
According to the Department of Transportation, the “English” requirement has existed for almost 90 years. However, the administration is more aggressively going after schools after a deadly crash on Florida’s Turnpike in St. Lucie County more than a year ago.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn in a semi-truck then a minivan collided with the truck, killing all three people inside the car.
According to officials, Singh didn’t pass an English Proficiency Exam after the crash and couldn’t identify various highway signs yet had a commercial driver’s license. Court records show Singh faces three counts of vehicular homicide.
The Department of Transportation said the removal of 110 CDL schools follows the identification of more than 5,000 drivers associated with those schools who failed English language proficiency tests. According to a press release, the schools were selected after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reviewed roadside inspection records for commercial drivers cited for not meeting English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirements and comparing those drivers with records in the Training Provider Registry to identify training providers, who repeatedly certified drivers who did not meet federal qualification standards.
“We are going to bring safety back to American roadways,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. “We’re not done. We’ve just begun.”
American Trucking, who has schools in Opa-Locka and Orlando, is one of the trucking schools who were ordered to stop operating earlier this week. Hector Delgado Santiago showed Channel 9 paperwork he paid for classes at the school, but he acknowledged he has trouble speaking English.
Staff at American Trucking told Channel 9 they’re currently on “pause” after the government’s decision to shut the company down. We also reached out to managers for the company listed on the state’s business records, Magdiel Fernandez and Teresa Cardenas, but we didn’t hear back by publication.
Regardless, the English-speaking requirement has always been difficult to enforce because “how much English is needed to drive a truck” is a subjective question. According to recommendations, the federal government make broad recommendations but stresses the test should evaluate whether the driver is able to sufficiently communicate with law enforcement officers and to understand highway traffic signs. It also recommends motor carriers ask five questions during an interview to see if a driver could answer questions related to their trip, driver’s license and shipping papers.
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