Transportministern Sean Duffy sade på fredagen att Trump-administrationen skärper verkställigheten av ett långvarigt federalt krav på att kommersiella lastbilschaufförer ska kunna läsa och tala engelska tillräckligt väl för att förstå vägmärken och kommunicera med tjänstemän. Under ett besök i Monroe County, Wisconsin, tillsammans med representanthusetmedlemmen Derrick Van Orden, framhöll Duffy även cirka 8,4 miljoner dollar avsatta för lokala transportförbättringar.
Transportministern Sean Duffy reste på fredagen till Monroe County, Wisconsin, tillsammans med representanthusetmedlemmen Derrick Van Orden, en republikan som representerar stora delar av området, för att diskutera vägsäkerhet och infrastrukturfinansiering. During the visit, Duffy pointed to a long-standing federal driver-qualification rule requiring commercial motor vehicle operators to be able to read and speak English sufficiently to understand traffic signs and communicate with the public and law enforcement. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) guidance issued under the Trump administration has moved to strengthen how that rule is enforced, including restoring the possibility that inspectors can place a driver “out of service” for failing to meet English-language proficiency requirements. “We have a longstanding rule that you have to speak English if you’re going to have a commercial driver’s license,” Duffy said at the event. “And the Obama administration had put a slap on the wrist for that offense. We brought a penalty back for not being able to be English proficient in the cab.” Duffy and Van Orden also highlighted roughly $8.4 million allocated for infrastructure improvements tied to Monroe County and the Sparta area. Van Orden’s office and local reporting have described the funding as supporting freight-corridor and multimodal improvements intended to enhance safety and access to regional destinations such as Fort McCoy and the Tomah VA. The renewed enforcement push builds on FMCSA’s position that the English-language requirement has remained on the books for decades, but that enforcement practices changed in 2016, when the Obama administration directed inspectors not to place drivers out of service solely for English-proficiency violations. The Trump administration has since moved to reverse that approach, arguing it is necessary for highway safety and effective communication during roadside inspections and crash investigations.
