Trucking group urges Congress to require English test as part of CDL process

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) is calling on lawmakers to close loopholes and to enact stricter standards for commercial vehicle drivers in order to prevent deadly crashes.

In an October 8 letter addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson and other top lawmakers, the ATA called for increased federal oversight on driver qualification, training, testing, and licensing standards, especially those related to related to English Language Proficiency (ELP), cabotage violations, Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT), and commercial driver’s license (CDL) issuance.

“Though commercial trucking is among the most heavily regulated industries in the United States, gaps in oversight, enforcement, and qualification requirements…threaten safety on our nation’s highways,” wrote ATA President and CEO Chris Spear.  

The ATA applauded the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) for recent efforts to strengthen CDL and ELP standards in the wake of a high-profile fatal crash in Florida involving a driver who “had obtained a non-domicile CDL through improper channels and failed to meet basic federal requirements, including English proficiency.” However, the group said that additional legislative reforms are needed to support USDOT’s efforts.

The ATA asked Congress to enact the following six measures:

1. Codify the President’s Executive Order on ELP for truck drivers. This would ensure consistent, enforceable standards across all states and eliminate gaps in interpretation of implementation. It would also prevent ELP from being removed from the Out of Service (OOS) criteria in the future.
2. Direct FMCSA to initiate a rulemaking requiring an ELP test as part of the CDL issuance process. This test could be integrated into existing components of the knowledge or skills tests or implemented as a standalone portion of the CDL examination. A standardized ELP test will prevent a patchwork of state driver’s licensing agency testing approaches and thwart enforcement discrepancies once CDL holders are on the road. Guaranteeing drivers can read and understand road signs, communicate with enforcement officials, and respond effectively in emergencies is foundational to safety. Ensuring these checks are in place at the entryway to obtain a CDL prevents unqualified drivers from ever entering the driving workforce while easing enforcement challenges.
3. Require individuals to hold a standard driver’s license for at least one year before becoming eligible for a CDL, with limited exceptions for certain workforce training programs. This would ensure drivers have sufficient baseline experience operating a motor vehicle before taking on the greater responsibility of driving a commercial truck. FMCSA should provide flexibility and exceptions for certain individuals seeking to enter the driving workforce, such as young drivers, those entering well-vetted carrier training programs, and underprivileged individuals who may lack the means to obtain a driver’s license, provided equal or greater training and safety protocols are in place.
4. Strengthen federal and state oversight of CDL issuance and testing to ensure only fully qualified drivers enter the industry. FMCSA should expand audits of state driver’s license agencies to examine all CDL issuance practices, enforce verification of all federal qualification standards before issuance, and impose penalties on states that fail to comply. In addition, the USDOT Office of Inspector General should broaden its audits to include third-party testers and the Training Provider Registry, ensuring compliance with Entry-Level Driver Training requirements and rooting out improper licensing practices.
5. Expedite the removal of non-compliant training providers from the FMCSA Training Provider Registry (TPR). States should have the authority to identify and suspend bad actors, while FMCSA should conduct regular audits of TPR participants and enforce meaningful penalties for non-compliance.
6. Strengthen enforcement and penalties against illegal cabotage. Direct USDOT and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to coordinate and enhance monitoring and enforcement of cabotage violations, including the use of data-sharing between federal and state agencies to track and identify illegal freight movements by foreign-domiciled carriers. Congress should also establish meaningful penalties – such as fines, disqualification, or loss of operating authority – for carriers found to be repeatedly violating cabotage restrictions. Ensuring that only qualified, compliant operators move domestic freight protects highway safety and preserves the integrity of U.S. carrier operations. By focusing enforcement actions on a relatively small group of motor carriers that are engaged in these practices, DHS and USDOT can send a strong deterrent message that reverberates across the industry.

“ATA respectfully urges your consideration of these actions to further close critical gaps in our driver qualification system, strengthen enforcement of existing standards, and prevent unsafe operators from entering or remaining in the trucking industry,” the ATA told lawmakers.