Federal government to withhold $40M from California for not enforcing trucker English requirements
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday he will cut $40 million from California because it is the only state that does not have English language requirements for truckers.
An investigation was launched after the incident fatal Florida crash In the case of a foreign truck driver who made an illegal U-turn on August 12, significant failures were found in what Duffy said was the way California enforced the rules: came into force in June Following one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders. California had issued the driver a commercial driver’s license, but those English rules predate the accident.
Truckers must be disqualified if they cannot demonstrate English proficiency, and Duffy said the driver involved in the crash should not be issued a commercial license because of his immigration status. The crash became increasingly political, with the governors of California and Florida criticizing each other and Duffy highlighting the administration’s immigration concerns in interviews.
“California is the only state in the nation that denies big truck drivers the ability to read our road signs and communicate with law enforcement. This is a fundamental safety issue on America’s roads that affects you and your family,” Duffy said.
California defended its practices in a formal response to the Department of Transportation last month, but federal officials were not satisfied.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office quickly backtracked after the announcement Wednesday. Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokeswoman for the governor, said statistics show that the crash rate for California commercial truck drivers is lower than the national average.
But Duffy said expressed his concerns In August, nearly 34,000 inspections were conducted in California in which at least one violation was identified since the new language standards went into effect. However, only one inspection involved a violation of English language rules that resulted in the driver being removed from service. Following inspections in California, 23 drivers who violated rules in other states were allowed to continue driving.
To restore this funding, the Department of Transportation must adopt regulations to enforce California’s English language rules and ensure that state inspectors test truck drivers’ English skills during roadside inspections and remove from service anyone who fails.
In addition to this English problem, Duffy threatened to withdraw another $160 million from California because of the way the state issues commercial driver’s licenses. duffy significantly restricted Who can qualify for these licenses last month?
Three people died in the accident hit by truck driver Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn It crashed into a minivan trailer on a highway about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of West Palm Beach, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Singh and his passenger were not injured.
he is being held without bond after being charged with vehicular homicide and immigration violations in three states. His lawyer had previously declined to comment on the case.
The crash drew intense scrutiny because of questions about Singh’s immigration status and because investigators later said he failed an English proficiency test. Duffy and Florida officials blamed California and Washington state for issuing him a commercial driver’s license.
But California officials said at the time that he had a valid work permit. And New Mexico released video of a traffic stop that showed Singh effectively communicating with an officer after being pulled over there in July.
Duffy, President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have been sparring with Newsom over the crash and whether Singh should have been driving a truck.
Newsom’s office stated that California followed all rules when licensing Singh in July 2024, while the federal government confirmed at the time that he was in the country legally.
Duffy and Florida authorities said Singh, who is from India, entered the country illegally from Mexico in 2018.
