Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty that 1,500 truck drivers have been removed from U.S. roads due to their failure to speak English. Their removal aligns with President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating that truck drivers be proficient in English.
“How important is it for truck drivers in this country to speak English?” Finnerty asked.
Duffy replied, “Listen, it’s wildy important because this has been on the American books for decades, because if you’re pulled over or you have a crash, and you can’t communicate with law enforcement or with first responders, it’s a truely safety issue.” He explained that former President Barack Obama “took the teeth out of this rule of English only. We brought those teeth back to the pre-Obama era to go ‘we’re going to put you out of business.'”
“We’ve taken 1,500 trucks out of service, off the roads because the drivers couldn’t speak English,” Duffy added. “I think that’s what the American people expect from us. English is the language of the United States of America. If you’re going to get in a mobile missile, you should speak our language.”
President Trump’s April order on the matter stated that speaking 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 read. “Drivers need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English. This is common sense.”
