On March 16^th, Rep. Harold Brubaker (R-78^th-Randolph County) introduced HB 396, a bill that would require that all portions of state driver’s license tests are administered in no languages other than English.

 

HB 396 would increase public safety by requiring an applicant for a driver’s license “to be able to speak or read and write English with enough proficiency that the production of multiple tests and handbooks by the division of motor vehicles is not necessary thereby netting a cost savings to the state.”  The bill also states that the examination will be given in the English language only, regardless of whether the examination is oral or written.  The exams that would be administered in English may include road tests, vision tests, and, in the case of literate applicants, written tests.

What is required of truck drivers to protect public safety in interstate commerce should be required to protect the safety of all North Carolinians.  After all, English is the universal language of all U.S. roads and all traffic signs!

 
HB 396 will simply help to close this dangerous violation of North Carolina’s official English law.

 

 

HB 396 has been referred to the House Transportation Committee, but it has not yet received a public hearing.