Mass immigration has significantly influenced various sectors in the U.S., notably the trucking industry, prompting the Trump administration to consider new executive orders.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt mentioned that an upcoming order “will direct the Department of Transport to implement English literacy tests for truck drivers.”
“This is a crucial issue within the trucking community, perhaps not widely understood if you’re outside of it. Many communication barriers exist between truckers, federal officials, and local authorities,” she explained.
“So, we want to ensure that truck drivers, who are essential to our economy, are proficient in English,” she added.
Gord Magill, a truck driver and author of “End of the Road,” highlighted that this isn’t merely a benign communication issue; it has led to serious, even lethal, consequences.
“There’s a rising number of drivers on the roads who don’t speak English. Given that all our road signs and weather reports are in English, this poses a significant problem,” he said.
He noted a concerning trend as truck accident statistics climbed, particularly after the introduction of Biden’s “Truck Extermination Action Plan.”
“Initially, the demand surged during Covid, prompting that trucking plan, but it eventually faded away, and we found ourselves in what we termed a freight recession over the last three years,” Magill remarked.
“Yet, the number of non-English-speaking drivers remains steady, and many have been involved in accidents. Statistics reveal an annual increase since 2016, and it’s at a higher rate since 2021,” he concluded.
