Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America's Truck Drivers
The order directs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to rescind a 2016 policy that softened English-proficiency enforcement for commercial truck drivers and replace it with stricter inspection procedures that can put non-compliant drivers out of service.
Enforcing this existing federal requirement more aggressively affects hundreds of thousands of commercial drivers and the employers, shippers, and communities that depend on them — making it one of the more operationally significant trucking safety orders in recent years.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs the Secretary of Transportation, through FMCSA, to rescind the 2016 guidance document "English Language Proficiency Testing and Enforcement Policy MC-ECE-2016-006" within 60 days and issue new guidance to inspectors outlining revised procedures for enforcing the existing federal requirement that commercial motor vehicle drivers read and speak English sufficiently. It further directs FMCSA to work with relevant entities to revise out-of-service criteria so that an English proficiency violation results in the driver being immediately placed out of service.
The order also directs FMCSA to review non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses for unusual patterns or irregularities and to evaluate protocols for verifying both domestic and international driving credentials. Separately, the Secretary of Transportation must identify and begin carrying out additional administrative, regulatory, or enforcement actions to improve truck drivers' working conditions within 60 days. The order includes a standard provision that it creates no enforceable legal rights for any party.
Who it affects
Commercial motor vehicle drivers — including long-haul truckers and others operating vehicles subject to federal safety regulations — who must demonstrate English proficiency during roadside inspections. Motor carriers, employers, and state agencies that issue non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses are also directly reached by the order's directives.
Why it matters
Drivers who cannot pass English proficiency checks during roadside inspections could now be placed immediately out of service, sidelining them from work until compliant. Carriers who rely on drivers with limited English proficiency face potential operational disruptions, and state agencies issuing non-domiciled CDLs face new federal scrutiny.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
FMCSA must rescind the 2016 guidance and issue replacement inspection guidance within 60 days, then separately work with out-of-service criteria bodies (such as the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance) to update those criteria so English proficiency violations trigger an out-of-service order. The CDL review and credential-verification evaluation run on no fixed deadline. The Secretary of Transportation must also identify and begin additional truck-driver working-condition actions within the same 60-day window. Implementation depends on available appropriations and existing law.
Actions and deadlines
- Rescind the 2016 English Language Proficiency guidance document MC-ECE-2016-006
- Issue new FMCSA inspection guidance for enforcing the English proficiency requirement under 49 CFR 391.11(b)(2)
- Work with relevant entities to revise out-of-service criteria so English proficiency violations result in driver being placed out of service
- Review non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses for unusual patterns or irregularities
- Evaluate and take appropriate actions to improve protocols for verifying domestic and international commercial driving credentials
- Identify and begin additional actions to improve truck drivers' working conditions