Input sought on English language proficiency enforcement in U.S.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) is soliciting feedback from fleets on new enforcement criteria in the U.S., that would see drivers who can’t demonstrate proficiency in English placed out of service.
Enforcement is to begin June 25. Of particular interest to CTA is guidance from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that prohibits the use of technological assistance when communicating with enforcement officers.
“The Canadian industry needs to determine how the current use of technology to interact with enforcement officials in English will be impacted,” said CTA CEO and president Stephen Laskowski. “This will be critical in determining how the evolution of this enforcement policy applies to the long-standing English-language proficiency requirements.”
FMCSA posted a heavily redacted version of its enforcement guidance earlier this week.
CTA says it will be working with U.S. enforcement officials to understand the rationale behind banning technology to comply with the law. CTA is also seeking answers as to how enforcement will be directed to deal with fraudulent CDLs and general truck safety concerns.
“CTA believes evolving technology and how the industry and the enforcement community interact with U.S. enforcement officials at roadside and the border holds potential solutions to improving road safety and compliance for shipments, vehicles and drivers,” said Laskowski. “Industry and enforcement officials on both sides of the border need to work together to develop modern compliance options that will allow fleets and their drivers who are committed to safety and security to thrive in an evolving enforcement environment.”
CTA is asking fleets and drivers to fill out a survey here.
Have your say
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Why ask for French languge to be allowed in the US, when English is even not allowed in Quebec where English is not on road signs, and if you are stopped by the QPP, they refuse to talk to you in English.
This whole language thing for the US is nothing new. Back in the Eighties I crossed at Gananoque once at about 3.:00 AM and there were only two trucks there. One from Quebec and me. I watched as the US Customs officer turned the truck from Quebec around and was approached by the officer thinking I was going to be turned around too. Being Canadian of course, I immediately apologized thinking I too might have done something wrong and was about to be turned around. The officer told me that he turned the driver around because he only spoke French. I couldn’t think of why that mattered since obviously the driver could ultimately find his destination. When I asked why that mattered he told me that normally he would let the driver through even though he didn’t speak any English but that night he just didn’t feel like giving him a pass. Just unlucky that night. He said that if the driver had to communicate with authorities, for any dire reason he couldn’t. English was the law for commercial trucks.
If a driver can’t communicate in English, how do they read road signs? Years ago I worked for a man of Italian decent in Toronto. He spoke English fluently but would tell MTO officers , and judges that he didn’t understand so they would be lenient when he broke the law. If you can’t speak English you shouldn’t be allowed to drive any motor vehicle in English speaking jurisdictions.
I filled out the “survey”, opting in as a driver.
What a SAD joke. If they think that it’ll get meaningful data? They’re mistaken.
The CTA had better stick to being desk jockeys.
Why ask for French languge to be allowed in the US, when English is even not allowed in Quebec where English is not on road signs, and if you are stopped by the QPP, they refuse to talk to you in English.
The law is perfect as is. Canada should adopt it to the letter.
To the OTA I give you the “Highway Thru Hell” episode of the south Asian driver who went from the drivers seat to the bunk in an accident the fellow should have died in and was found sandwiched in a severely crushed bunk by chance. Emergency services could not communicate with him. Why?, he could not speak English. They had to find one of his own to communicate with this lucky driver. Where is his technology then OTA. I agree with this law, look at the air transportation business. All flight communication is done in English all over the world, this giving the driving test in 14 or whatever the number is different languages is of no help to the driving public. The U.S. and Canada are majority English speaking with Spanish the U.S. unofficial language and Canda having the French language as it’s official second language. The U.S. will do as they wish and there is nothing the OTA can do about it. I can give several different examples of situations where the language barrier has caused issues and in some cases ” I don’t speak English ” is used as an excuse. Can’t speak, write and understand English in the transportation industry, you should not be allowed into it. You become a liability.
Hello Truck News,
That is America being American and seeing tunnel vision. Not seeing that the person is capable of handling the truck or understanding road signs in America.
An executive order was signed in April 2025 to specifically the enforcement of this English proficiency requirement. If they are deemed unable to comply with that order, they are put OOS, Out Of Service. Which is highly racist and discriminatory.
Not being allowed to use the tools now found on mobile phones is bad enough, but to the American eyes, the idea that they could mix the two proficiencies, whereby they are seen as unable to read a sign, makes it all the worse.
That will bring it two areas of concern, Driver Interview & Highway Traffic Sign Recognition. Either one will be seen as a new enforcement that directly impacts the ability of those who can drive and cuts them off at the knees.
The Canadian Skilled Truckers Alliance will stand fast in arguing that prohibiting readily available translation tools creates an unnecessary barrier and is discriminatory.
The CSTA will, along with other advocacy groups will continue to raise concerns and potentially challenge these regulations. The long-term impact on the USA trucking workforce and supply chain is yet to be seen.
This debate will centre on balancing safety concerns with fairness, accessibility and potential discrimination against Non-English speaking truck drivers.
It is imperative that any drivers operating a highway truck and trailer be able to speak. Read.understand
And communicate of on his own notvusing devices to simulate understanding and comprehend what it is all about he us suppose to do and achieve
You go to another country like Asia and you are expected to be ablecto understand and respond in their language so this is not new.
The U.S.A is allowed to have their rules, it is a PRIVILAGE to be able to do Business as a non citizen going BACK and FORTH with loads to the U.S.A not haling loads point to point in the U.S.A. as some NON-CITIZENS do.
If your Fleet can not abide by the rules of another COUNTRY ……. “DON’T GO THERE”
We are constantly told “SAFETY ” if you cant communicate in ENGLISH in an emergency you are risking YOUR SAFETY and the SAFETY of OTHERS
The ONLY imput needed is this..
NO English
NO License
Deport
It’s that simple.
Make Canada Great Again
I agree 100% with this enforcement as I believe that everyone that drives a vehicle, whether commercial or other, should be able to read and understand the road signs and rules of vehicle operation without assistance from a second party.
The only change I would like to see is that French be accepted as this a recognized 2nd language in Canada.