Language Barrier ... this is out of hand

I would be all for it . But then again when these so called drivers set the bar so low, it's fairly easy to succeed out here by doing the basics

 

No problem. He'll make sure to get a better app. Works well in Europe.

 

But who’s gonna haul cheap freight

 

Well, I believe you are a bit out of the loop as to who is driving Americas trucks. A rough estimate of foreign born truck drivers here is over 740,000, or almost 1/5th of all drivers in the US. Get used to it, as other countries governments fail around the world, many will look to the land of golden riches to work. Far as I'm concerned, and my experience with Colorado,they have their heads in their axxes, and with the amount of foreigners, it's the states responsibility to process them. Maybe the DOT officer had nothing better to do than to hassle this poor person for 20 minutes, "because their app wasn't working", BALONEY, it's unacceptable for today.
Besides, the new administration has bigger fish to fry right now.

 

FMCSA 391.11
Except as provided in subpart G of this part, a person is qualified to drive a motor vehicle if he/she— (1) Is at least 21 years old; (2) Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records;

 

I had to deal with a group of port drivers from the asian subcontinent and all of the same religious sect.

There was a core group of 'old timers' bent on bringing on relatives, sons-in-law, etc. after their two years OTR for carriers who spoke the same language.

I don't know if the stories of 3 to 4 guys running coast to coast with the fabled hole in the sleeper floor are true BUT these guys were eager to spend their nights at home.

They all had bluetooth head sets and I often heard someone translating my questions and they would reply in decent english after help with understanding me.

The absolute worst was the immediate post accident phone calls when the speaker was excited/upset; a couple times my initial accident report would be partially incorrect trying to understand what occurred.

Unfortunately the FCMSA seems unwilling to enforce this aspect of our industry; someday this will hit the fan big time!

 

That’s all fine and good, but now get law enforcement to stop looking the other way when they see a foreigner in the drivers seat.

 

I am at a loss to understand why the DOT doesn't simply put them out of service.

 

Its a safety hazard in general in just about any industry. How are you supposed to communicate a hazard or immediately dangerous situation on a jobsite to someone who does not understand the language? Good luck using a translator app when life or death could only be seconds away.