Urge Congress to defend English Model official English statute Donate Current Legislation State Profiles
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May 5, 2008 President George W. Bush Dear President Bush: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations that govern motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce specify that drivers must “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.”[2] We wish to express our strong opposition to letting Mexican motor carriers and their drivers circumvent the safety regulations that govern U.S. carriers. As Senator Byron Dorgan said at the hearing, “If you answer in Spanish, you’re not English proficient.” FMCSA regulations concerning English proficiency exist because they are critical to public safety. Truck drivers on U.S. roads who are not proficient in English are a danger to themselves and other motorists. They cannot read or understand traffic warning signs or hazard signs on other vehicles. And they cannot communicate with police or public safety officials in the event of an accident or highway emergency. There have been terrible accidents in recent years in which a truck driver’s inability to communicate in English played a major role. In Chicago, six children in one family were killed when their parents’ minivan exploded in flames after colliding with a tail-light assembly that had fallen off a truck. The truck driver could not speak English and did not understand other truckers on the road who tried to warn him about the dangerous condition of his tail-light assembly.[3] A heavy truck driver traveling a Pennsylvania back road crashed into and killed an entire family of five. The driver could not understand English and had failed to heed signs banning trucks weighing over 10 tons from using the road he was traveling. These and other accidents, often resulting in a tragic loss of life could have been avoided had the truck drivers involved been able to read and understand English.[4] Tractor trailer rigs weighing 80,000 lbs. or more traveling at speeds of 70 mph or higher are very dangerous machines. The American people have a right to expect that operators of such vehicles read and understand English well enough to answer questions in English about U.S. traffic and warning signs. To protect the safety of all who use our roads and highways we urge you to order the Department of Transportation to reinstate the English proficiency requirement for Mexican truck drivers entering the U.S. And as a matter of equity and fairness, we ask you to make sure that motor carriers from any country are required to observe the same rules and regulations that American carriers are required to follow, especially those related to safety. Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to working with you on this very important issue. Sincerely,
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