If there was any doubt… SEAN DUFFY DOUBLES DOWN ON ENGLISH PROFICIENCY STANDARD FOR TRUCK DRIVERS

Pumpkin Oval Head 99 · Sep 2, 2025 at 10:04 AM

BeHereNow97 said: ↑

Does this logic apply to thick southern American accents as well?

In my opinion, if we are going to go this route then DOT officers need to be able to speak with a neutral American accent and get rid of their strong southern accents. You can't expect people knowing English as a second language to properly understand someone with a ridiculously strong southern accent.

Also, how many truckers who were born and raised in the US can properly read the green FMSCA handbook that we have to keep in our trucks? I'm not being sarcastic, I am being completely serious.
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That’s why road signs are published without any accent.

Pumpkin Oval Head 99 · Sep 2, 2025 at 10:08 AM

TNSnowman said: ↑

You, are in the wrong line of work!
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Good point. The Green book is also published in Spanish, so those fluent in Spanish wanting to take the CDL exam will actually read the Green book and understand it, it so they can pass the test.

Pumpkin Oval Head 99 · Sep 2, 2025 at 10:15 AM

drvrtech77 said: ↑

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy doubled down this week on the Trump administration policy of requiring proficiency in English for truck drivers operating big rigs on the road in America, warning of stiff consequences for non-compliance.

Duffy told Fox News that speaking and reading English were not just important for understanding road signs, but also for communicating with law enforcement in the event of an emergency.

“This is not a new rule,” he said. “The ‘English Only’ requirement…has been on the books for a long time, it’s just that Barack Obama made sure that if you violated that rule, it was a slap on the wrist. We’re going back to the old rule of ‘we’re going to put your rig out of service,’ and make sure that you don’t drive if you don’t speak the language.”

He said the policy was “common sense.”

“If you’re going to get on the road with one of these potentially dangerous vehicles, speak our language,” Duffy added.

https://www.rsbnetwork.com/news/sea...glish-proficiency-standard-for-truck-drivers/
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Sean didn’t know that under W Bush and senior Bush, and Reagan and trumps first term, the non-english rules were the same as Obama’s. I guess he didn’t, because he is Mr. Common Sense.

But will Sean care if Tesla truck computers don’t speak English to police, firefighters, or EMTs….common sense?

drvrtech77 · Sep 2, 2025 at 10:37 AM

Pumpkin Oval Head 99 said: ↑

Sean didn’t know that under W Bush and senior Bush, and Reagan and trumps first term, the non-english rules were the same as Obama’s. I guess he didn’t, because he is Mr. Common Sense.

But will Sean care if Tesla truck computers don’t speak English to police, firefighters, or EMTs….common sense?
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They weren’t… Obama signed an executive order in July 2016 instructing federal agencies to no longer put out of service for lack of English proficiency instead just issue citations and send them on their way… Prior to that it was on the books as a regulation. It just wasn’t technically enforced as it really wasn’t such a prevalent problem as it is now

drvrtech77 · Sep 2, 2025 at 10:39 AM

Pumpkin Oval Head 99 said: ↑

Then I guess Sean won’t allow Tesla truc

So he was an unsafe driver because of his actions…but logically whether he speaks English or not has nothing to do with his driving skills. English speaking drivers can and do drive like that.
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oh yes it does because if they can’t read English. They can’t read any signs. You don’t like the ones that says stop traffic ahead road closed, etc. yes, lack of English speaking ability makes that person a hazard on the highway… folks need to stop making excuses for this crap

Pumpkin Oval Head 99 · Sep 2, 2025 at 12:09 PM

drvrtech77 said: ↑

oh yes it does because if they can’t read English. They can’t read any signs. You don’t like the ones that says stop traffic ahead road closed, etc. yes, lack of English speaking ability makes that person a hazard on the highway… folks need to stop making excuses for this crap
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Sorry, but my point is that speaking English is different than reading it. I can read French, but cannot speak or hear it at all.

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