A fresh regulation will mandate that every commercial driving permit assessment (CDL exam) be conducted exclusively in English. (Credit: Pool)
Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation, unveiled extensive modifications to commercial haulage regulations on Friday. These included a fresh stipulation that every commercial driving permit (CDL) examination must be conducted solely in English.
Addressing a gathering at the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) main office in Washington, D.C., Duffy, alongside Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Derek Barrs, articulated that this initiative seeks to bolster supervision and guarantee that operators can interpret traffic signals and interact effectively with police personnel.
Duffy declared, “We are putting into effect a regulation that will declare a single language for the examination — English only. The assessment must be completed in English. If one cannot verbally or textually comprehend English, one will not perform adequately on the examination.”
Duffy observed that a number of jurisdictions, California among them, presently make CDL exams available in numerous linguistic options.
DUFFY AFFIRMS CALIFORNIA HAS NO EXTENSION FOR THE CUTOFF TO REVOKE NON-CITIZENS’ COMMERCIAL DRIVER PERMITS
Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation, addresses attendees at the Department of Transportation headquarters on Friday in Washington, D.C., where he unveiled major alterations to commercial driving license examinations across the country. (Pool)
He stated, “Within California’s borders, one is able to undertake the driving assessment, the practical ability evaluation, and the competency examination — these are offered in two dozen distinct tongues.”
Beyond the stipulation for assessments solely in English, Duffy mentioned that the DOT will request jurisdictions to invalidate the permits of operators who do not satisfy national benchmarks for English competency.
Duffy stated, “Our future course of action will be to urge states to revoke your permit.”
Duffy further denounced what he characterized as lenient supervision during the Biden tenure, alleging Pete Buttigieg, the prior Secretary of Transportation, had neglected to enforce stringent criteria for the accreditation of commercial driver training facilities.
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Commercial vehicles at a depot in Bakersfield, Calif. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Duffy asserted that certain commercial driver training centers — dubbed by him as “CDL mills” — were deficient in appropriate teaching materials or instruction. Duffy confirmed the DOT has closed operations for 7,000 of these establishments.
Duffy remarked, “We ought to anticipate our safety, and that operators of those massive 80,000-pound tractor-trailers are thoroughly instructed, highly capable, and will operate securely.”
Government authorities lately performed over eight thousand two hundred examinations as part of Operation SafeDRIVE, removing 704 operators from active duty. Approximately 500 received citations for not satisfying English language competency benchmarks.
This declaration comes after numerous prominent collisions where operators were undocumented immigrants.
AMERICANS ARE HESITATING ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES: ‘COST-EFFECTIVENESS REMAINS A MAJOR CONCERN’
A commercial driver’s license belonging to Singh Sukhdeep, an undocumented individual from India, charged with the homicide of an Indiana resident in a February 2026 collision. (Obtained by Fox News / Fox News)
At the start of this month, Bekzhan Beishekeev, a commercial vehicle operator hailing from Kazakhstan who gained entry into the U.S. during 2023 via the CBP One application, is accused of causing the deaths of four individuals in an Indiana collision. A CDL was granted to him in Pennsylvania.
During a separate incident last August, Harjinder Singh, who had obtained a CDL in California, is claimed to have executed an unlawful U-turn, caused his truck to jackknife, leading to a collision that resulted in three fatalities. He faced charges for three instances of vehicular manslaughter.
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The DOT did not promptly reply to FOX Business’ inquiry for remarks.
Charles Creitz, Peter D’Abrosca, Bill Melugin, and Garrett Tenney of Fox News Digital assisted with this dispatch.