This year, more than 7,000 commercial truck drivers in the United States have been taken off the road after failing new mandated drug tests that check their proficiency in encyclopedic English — a crackdown that was driven by safety concerns following deadly roadway crashes. This enforcement, ordered by Mr. Trump under an executive order that made English proficiency a requirement for all commercial drivers, has disproportionately affected Indian-born drivers — especially those from Punjab and Haryana in the north of the country — as well as numerous Latino drivers.
Through June 2025, according to data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), over 6,000 truck drivers have been pulled out of service for failing random roadside tests in English. As of October 2025, US Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy said that some 7,248 drivers had been entirely disqualified for failing to meet the English Language Proficiency (ELP) benchmarks. The US Department of Transportation mandates that truck drivers must be able to speak and understand English to communicate with authorities and the general public while operating trucks or buses, thereby ensuring road safety.
The sweep came after a spate of fatal accidents, highlighted by a high-profile crash in Florida, when the driver, Harjinder Singh, an immigrant from India, failed his English proficiency test following the crash and was charged with vehicular homicide. Critics say the policy is likely to have a significant effect on immigrant drivers and could exacerbate a chronic trucker shortage in the US trucking industry, where an estimated 130,000 to 150,000 Indian-origin drivers work. The regulation stipulates that drivers must be able to understand traffic signs, communicate with authorities, and take note of particulars while on duty.
The crackdown will reverse an Obama administration policy that generally relaxed scrutiny of English proficiency during enforcement of the rules and make it easier to immediately remove individuals who fail the tests from service, for safety reasons. Industry voices caution about potential discrimination and lasting impacts on the trucking workforce, especially among Indian-origin drivers who fill a significant portion of the industry.
This new requirement, as required by regulation 49 CFR 391.11(b)(2), affects all holders of a Commercial Driver’s License regardless of whether you operate in Non-excepted or Excepted Drug and Alcohol testing categories. All CDL holders must be proficient in English to communicate with the public, read traffic signs, speak with law enforcement, and maintain accurate records. Enforcement has ramped up in recent weeks, with the number of recorded violations involving English-language requirements rising as states have stepped up inspections. In short, the English test crackdown on truck drivers in the US has kept more than 7,000 drivers from driving, mostly from immigrant communities. The goal is to make the roads safer, but people are worried about fairness and the future supply of truck drivers.