Is there really a provision in the Fed Regs that drivers must speak and read English?

Not enforced at all, once in a while i have seen customs busting balls of few frenchmens because they ask them to repeat,but middle eastern drivers who doesn't know the difference between black/white come & go....

 

Might be because NM has bi lingual laws on the books. Like a juror nor speaking English is not grounds for dismissal if a translator can be found.

 

How can a state supercede federal regulations?

 

Check out CO, WA, and AK making recreational pot smoking "legal"......

Far as I know, it's still against Fed law. Guess just depends on who's running the show, and when.....

 

Here, it's not that a state law supersedes federal law (federal trumps state no matter what), but rather the majority of times the "speak / write / understand English" rule is just "selectively enforced". And as PackRat pointed out, we are a English / Spanish state meaning that both languages are "official" languages in the state per the state constitution. In all fairness, almost every single time I've heard MTP talking to a driver in Spanish, it's always some POS end or belly dump that should be in the junkyard pulled off at some place like the Waldo Canyon station on I-25 south of Santa Fe.

 

If you understand the constitution, individual rights come first, then state rights, and last those specifically given to the federal government. Federal law was NEVER to supersede state laws, except for those limited areas given to the federal government..

 

There is a DOT officer at the westbound scales in North Platte, NE that enforces it.

I was in there with an oversize load on July 7th getting permits checked and in casual conversation with the officer I asked what the two trucks parked next to me were out of service for. He said the trucks aren't and as soon as the drivers learn English they'll be free to go. They were gone a couple weeks later when I came back through so I figure that Rosetta Stone must have worked.

 

but if the sky is gray that day, and the non-English speaking person still answers, "blue", does he still get his license, or is he denied..????

 

Go into any DMV office in Colorado, any day of the week, you'll see a group of 4 or 5 Mexicans with their translator getting their Colorado drivers licenses. The translator will speak to the DMV officer, then translate to the people, who will then reply. Few years back, Colorado tried a kiosk approach for renewing CDL's, an electronic test, it worked actually pretty well........watched a Chinese guy talk to the clerk, approach the kiosk, CDL manual in hand, and proceed to take the test......open book. When I pointed out to her this was illegal, she just smiled.