Over 6,000 truck drivers have been pulled from the road for failing Trump’s demand they be proficient in English

Some 6,000 truckers have been taken off the road in just four months after the Trump administration started requiring roadside English proficiency tests, according to a new report.

These 6,000 commercial truck drivers were pulled off the road because they failed roadside English-language proficiency tests, The Washington Post reports, citing federal data from June 1 through Monday. Officers are administering these tests after President Donald Trump’s April executive order.

Secretary Sean Duffy signed a follow-up order in May implementing the policy through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

“Americans are a lot safer on roads alongside truckers who can understand and interpret our traffic signs,” Duffy said in a statement after signing the order. “This common-sense change ensures the penalty for failure to comply is more than a slap on the wrist.”

As drivers are pulled off the road, analysts told the Post there’s no data showing a correlation between proficiency in English and commercial truck accidents. Some activists are also concerned that Latino drivers could be unfairly targeted by officers, the Post reports, and want more details on how they will be tested.

"English proficiency is such a subjective standard,” Brandon Wiseman, president of Trucksafe Consulting, told the Post. “What one officer might think is proficient, another officer down the road might think is not proficient. That makes it tough.”

The Transportation Department hasn’t released the questions officers use, but industry experts told the Post common questions include, “Where are you going?” and “What was your starting point?”

Adalberto Campero, CEO of the Texas-based trucking company Unimex, said he’s concerned it’ll cause the “stereotyping” and the “singling out of Mexican individuals or individuals of Hispanic heritage.”

“They’re threatened, they’re intimidated…because they feel like their livelihood could be taken away,” he told the Post.

The Independent has contacted the Transportation Department for comment.

Duffy also announced Wednesday that he will be withholding $40 million in Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program funding from California, claiming an investigation found the state has failed to comply with the English-language proficiency requirements. Funding will be restored if California complies, according to the Transportation Department.

“This means state inspectors need to begin conducting ELP assessments during roadside inspections and place those who fail out-of-service,” the agency said.

A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office pushed back on the Transportation Department’s claims.

“Sounds like the federal Secretary of Transportation needs a lesson on his own road rules,” the spokesperson told The Independent. “The facts are plain and simple — California commercial driver’s license holders had a fatal crash rate nearly 40% LOWER than the national average. Texas — the only state with more commercial holders — has a rate almost 50% higher than California. Facts don’t lie, but the Trump administration sure does.”

The Post’s data analysis revealed California officers have pulled seven drivers for failing roadside English tests as of Monday. In comparison, the outlet reports Texas has pulled more than 500 drivers off the road.