Adding to the pile of bills attempting to address ensured English-proficiency compliance, every bills seems to approach the issue from a slightly different angle – and not always in a productive way according to OOIDA.
A new English-proficiency bill in the House would require applicants to pass a test before being issued a CDL or having one renewed.
Rep. Pat Harrigan, R, N.C., recently introduced the Standardized Assessment for Fluency in English (SAFE) Drivers Act. The bill would establish a uniform English-proficiency test for all CDL applicants nationwide.
HR5800, which is co-sponsored by Reps. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, and Robert Onder, R-Mo., would require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to develop a uniform test to be administered during CDL issuance and renewal in every state. The test would determine if the applicant can read road signs, understand verbal instructions and complete written reports.
(H3) The SAFE Drivers Act is one of many bills recently introduced to address safety concerns involving English proficiency and non-domiciled CDLs.
“If you can’t read ‘Bridge Out Ahead’ or communicate with a state trooper at a crash scene, you have no business driving an 80,000-pound truck on American highways,” Rep. Harrigan said in a news release. “We have federal rules that require English proficiency but no standardized test to enforce them, so states like California hand out commercial licenses to drivers who can’t understand basic safety instructions. The SAFE Drivers Act fixes that by requiring one uniform English test nationwide before any CDL is issued. No more guesswork, no more state-by-state loopholes, just one standard that keeps Americans safe.”
Harrigan’s bill is supported by the American Trucking Associations.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which has helped lead the charge for English-proficiency enforcement and standards, has concerns with the SAFE Drivers Act’s requirement that a test be administered for every renewal.
“OOIDA supports numerous bills to enforce and strengthen English-language proficiency (ELP) standards, such as Connor’s Law and the Commercial Motor Vehicle English Proficiency Act, which would require CDL applicants to demonstrate ELP before they can get their license, require all CDL testing to be done in English and ensure that ELP violations remain in the out-of-service criteria,” said Bryce Mongeon, OOIDA’s director of legislative affairs. “Unfortunately, we must oppose the SAFE Drivers Act, because it would require all truckers to pass an English test every time they renew their license. This would impose an unnecessary new burden on truckers who have had their license for years, sometimes decades, and have no reason to re-demonstrate English proficiency.” LL
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