Got Commercial Drivers? New Executive Order Seeks to Ensure They Can Speak and Read English

Update: On May 2, 2025, the Board of Directors of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) used an emergency procedure to add the inability to comply with the English comprehension and communication rule to their list of criteria that warrant an out-of-service order. Beginning June 25, 2025, the guidance to enforcement officials nationwide will read, “Driver cannot read and speak the English language sufficiently to communicate with the safety official to respond to official inquiries and directions in accordance with FMCSA enforcement guidance. (391.11(b)(2)) Declare driver out of service.”

*  *  *

An executive order titled, “Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road For America’s Truck Drivers” focuses on English proficiency standards for regulated drivers. Executive Order 14286 follows President Trump’s March 1, 2025 EO designating English as America’s official language. Citing criminal investigations of trucking collisions allegedly slowed because driver-witnesses were unable to communicate in English, the new EO emphasizes that for commercial truck drivers operating in America, English proficiency “should be a non-negotiable safety requirement.” 

The EO states that drivers should be able to “read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol…. Drivers need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English.” Calling the EO “common sense,” the EO aims to reverse lax enforcement that has “not been enforced in years, and America’s roadways have become less safe.” 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the Department of Transportation (DOT) subagency responsible for promulgating and enforcing regulations governing the trucking industry. Long-standing regulations do require that a commercial motor vehicle driver must be able to “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.” See 49 C.F.R. § 391.11(b)(2). This regulation also applies to Mexican and Canadian nationals licensed in their own countries who operate these trucks cross-border into the United States. 

However, while these requirements have been the law of the land for decades, they have been only sporadically enforced.  Although the EO cites Obama administration guidance released in 2016 as loosening the breadth of enforcement efforts, the FMCSA has struggled with the English proficiency requirements since at least 1997. Then, the agency indicated it was considering revising or revoking the rule following challenges to similar English-only requirements that alleged violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as 42 U.S.C. § 1981’s prohibition on national origin discrimination. In 2003, however, the trucking agency withdrew its proposed rulemaking, concluding that the evidence gathered failed to support the conclusion that the rule “requires an unnecessarily high level of English fluency that has resulted in a discriminatory impact or effect based upon national origin, color, or ethnicity” and concluded that the regulation “as written and properly enforced” appropriately balances issues of civil rights and highway safety.¹ More recently, however, FMCSA enforcement guidance has not directed roadside inspectors charged with enforcing highway safety laws to place drivers out-of-service if found to be in violation of the English proficiency requirements, but only to cite the driver (and the driver’s employer) with a regulatory violation. 

The new EO explicitly states the FMCSA must require a driver to be placed out-of-service if they cannot meet the requirements of the regulations. To that end, the EO directs FMCSA to issue new guidance with “revised inspection procedures necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of 49 C.F.R. 391.11(b)(2).” The new guidance should dictate that “a violation of the English language proficiency requirement results in the driver being placed out-of-service.” 

Placing a driver out-of-service imposes significant costs on employers, which will include the need to send a qualified driver to pick up equipment that can no longer be operated by the driver. Moreover, as some loosening of the English proficiency requirements was initially welcomed by industry as a means to solve a persistent commercial driver shortage, employers may find themselves scrambling to ensure they can employ sufficient qualified drivers going forward.²

The EO also directs FMCSA to take a second look at state licensing programs. Although the English proficiency rule applies to all interstate commercial drivers, the EO also requires the FMCSA to review state-issued non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) in particular “to identify any unusual patterns or numbers or other irregularities.” Additionally, FMCSA is directed to “evaluate and take appropriate actions to improve the effectiveness of current protocols for verifying the authenticity and validity of domestic and international driving credentials.”

Finally, the EO may presage changes on the horizon for the industry. In the last section of the EO, the secretary of transportation is directed to “identify and begin carrying out additional administrative, regulatory, or enforcement actions to improve the working conditions of America’s truck drivers.” This provision also directs FMCSA to “remov[e] needless regulatory burdens that undermine the working conditions of America’s truck drivers.” No specifics as to what those changes might entail are provided in the EO, however. 

Practical Take-Aways for Employers 

At a time when commercial driver job vacancies remain elevated nationwide, disruptions in service are unwelcome. To that end, employers may wish to: 

• Review English Proficiency Compliance — Review hiring procedures and driver qualification files to reaffirm that all drivers meet the English proficiency standards.
• Ensure Drivers Know About Enforcement Changes and Are Prepared — Drivers who have adequate but limited English skills should be advised of the potential need to demonstrate their English competency if subject to a roadside inspection or other enforcement action. Moreover, although the EO does not appear calculated to disrupt current FMCSA programs allowing nonverbal deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers to be medically qualified provided they can communicate in writing in English, ensuring these drivers are aware that they may be asked to demonstrate this competence may better prepare drivers to respond to such a request.
• Compliance with Driver Qualification Requirements — Ensure that driver qualification files and other documentation of a driver’s authorization to engage in commercial driving generally are current and available in a timely fashion in the event of an audit.
• Building Connections with Labor — Check collective bargaining agreements for any provisions that may impact drivers affected by the rule. In addition, the Trump administration has touted its growing relationships with the modern labor movement. Several trucking advocacy groups, including unions, have publicly praised the administration’s efforts to increase safety on the roadways. It is yet to be seen how much influence these groups will have on Secretary Duffy’s efforts to take actions designed to positively benefit driver working conditions.