 "Dashcam image of a fatal crash in Florida involving an Indian driver")
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has launched an aggressive enforcement campaign targeting commercial truck drivers who fail mandatory English proficiency tests, resulting in a drastic spike in driver debarments across the country.
A total of 7,248 commercial truck drivers have been declared “out of service” this year—effectively banned from driving—after failing real-time roadside English Language Proficiency (ELP) checks.
This is a big leap from the roughly 1,500 such debarment orders issued earlier this year.
Fatal crashes trigger crackdown
The campaign was initiated following a series of high-profile and fatal highway incidents involving drivers of Indian origin, raising intense scrutiny over the issuance of Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) to non-domiciled drivers.
A critical case was a deadly triple-fatality crash on the Florida Turnpike in August involving Indian national Harjinder Singh , whose English language credentials were later questioned.
The crackdown also comes after a devastating pileup on a California highway in October, where an Indian driver, alleged to be an illegal alien who secured a CDL, failed the English test multiple times before the incident.
DOT officials allege that lax state enforcement of federal language rules enabled such tragedies. Secretary Duffy publicly criticised “sanctuary states” like California for flouting new federal guidance, alleging they issued CDLs without enforcing stringent federal standards.
The revived federal rule (49 CFR 391.11(b)(2)) requires all CDL holders to be proficient enough in English to converse with the public, understand traffic signs, communicate with law enforcement, and maintain accurate reports.
Enforcement of this rule had been relaxed by an Obama-era memo but has been mandated again under a 2025 executive order, requiring immediate debarment for drivers who fail the ELP checks. Roadside inspectors will now test drivers using basic questions and traffic sign identification.
This aggressive policy disproportionately impacts the large number of Indian-origin truckers in the US, many of whom come from Punjab and Haryana. The North American Punjabi Truckers Association estimates that between 130,000 and 150,000 Indian-origin truck drivers operate in the US.