(Texas Scorecard) – Following reports that Texas was not complying with a presidential executive order requiring English proficiency for commercial truck drivers, Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to enforce the requirement for the safety of all drivers.
Abbott’s announcement comes after American Truckers United, a truck drivers’ advocacy group, reported that Texas currently employs the most non-English speaking commercial truck drivers of any state.
American Truckers United posted on X that Texas tops a list of 14 states that were out of compliance with President Donald Trump’s order. These states were then sending truck drivers who are not English-proficient into the rest of the country.
In April, Trump issued an executive order that directed Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to strengthen English proficiency rules for commercial driver’s license holders.
“America First means safety first,” stated Duffy in May after announcing steps to ensure the enforcement of new English proficiency requirements.
“Americans are a lot safer on roads alongside truckers who can understand and interpret our traffic signs. This common-sense change ensures the penalty for failure to comply is more than a slap on the wrist,” added Duffy.
This reversed a 2016 policy implemented by former President Barack Obama, who had directed safety inspectors not to place commercial drivers “out-of-service” for violating English fluency requirements.
An “out of service” order is issued when a driver, vehicle, or cargo is found to be in violation of federal or state safety regulations.
“Truckers play an instrumental role in Texas’ robust economy and in keeping our highways safe,” said Abbott. “Every commercial driver license operator on Texas roadways must be able to communicate clearly in English to ensure compliance with traffic laws, follow safety directions, and prevent accidents.”
“Today, I am directing DPS to enact zero-tolerance enforcement of these federal safety regulations across the board—whether drivers are operating across state lines or only within Texas. This approach will keep Texans safe while keeping our economy moving.”
Abbott has directed DPS to conduct English language proficiency reviews for all commercial truck drivers on Texas roads and to stop issuing intrastate commercial licenses to individuals who cannot communicate sufficiently in English with department staff.