How to prepare for roadside English enforcement

Roadside inspectors following FMCSA’s guidance will now always initiate their roadside inspections in English. If the inspector gets the impression that the driver might not be proficient in English, they will conduct the ELP assessment. The assessment has two main stages: a spoken driver interview and a sign recognition test.

If the driver performs well in the spoken interview, the inspector will then pursue the sign recognition test. However, if the driver fails either stage of the assessment, the inspector can cite the driver for a violation and place them out of service.

FMCSA is withholding the exact ELP assessment details for now, but the regulation (49 CFR 391.11) requires that drivers know English well enough to:

• Converse with the general public
• Understand highway signs and signals
• Respond to official inquiries
• Make entries on reports and records

Consequences for carriers

Once the CVSA Out-of-Service Criteria officially include English proficiency requirements on June 25, the cost of employing drivers who don’t speak English could be significant.

Citations for violating driver qualification requirements can cost motor carriers several thousand dollars. An out-of-service designation can spoil a load, customer relations, and more.

“It could be very disruptive for some trucking companies if that were to occur,” Moore said. “There could be penalties under contractual requirements if there’s a delay. There could be damage to perishable foods that are being transported, like produce.”

The new standards will likely have an especially high impact on immigrant drivers, Moore said. The consequences of violations will be significantly damaging for smaller, financially vulnerable carriers.

What should fleets do?

Fleets should obviously ensure that all their drivers are proficient in English. Many carriers may already enforce ELP in their hiring process. By June 25, other carriers will need to enforce ELP among their drivers.

In practice, that might include additional steps in the hiring process or tutoring for existing drivers.

“The trucking company has to ensure applicants have sufficient English proficiency,” Moore said. “That might include, for example, an English language assessment as part of the hiring process; I would recommend that be applicable to all applicants … They could provide tutoring classes, if it’s the type of organization that would do that, or at least provide that some way with an outside vendor.”

Be wary of discrimination

English language proficiency is closely related to issues of race and ethnicity. Carriers should be careful that any new ELP requirements comply with civil rights laws.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, for example, may charge discriminating carriers for violation of the Civil Rights Act.

“This is where there could be discrimination claims under federal laws. A company can’t go too far and say ‘this is an English-only enterprise’ or somehow discriminate against someone because they have an accent,” Moore said. “It has to make sure that the ELP requirements are being met, but it cannot go too far beyond that because it could run afoul of discrimination laws.”