A new bill from the US Senate could clamp down even harder on non-English speaking truckers by requiring full-on speaking and reading tests for proficiency in the language before awarding commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).
The logistics industry has been consistently struggling over the last few years. Trucker shortages and supply chain uncertainty has made it hard to keep up with demand, and there have been virtually no signs of it getting better.
Now, English-speaking requirements proposed by the Trump administration and other GOP senators threaten to make the trucker shortage infinitely more complicated.
New Bill Could Create English Testing Requirements for Truckers
A new bill introduced in the US Senate would create new requirements for a CDL, including the “ability to read and understand traffic signs, communicate in English with law enforcement, and provide and receive feedback and directions in English.”
“Common sense would tell us that anyone driving on American roads, especially those operating large trucks and trailers, should be capable of understanding what the road signs say or how to communicate with police.” – Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kansas)
The bill is called the Commercial Motor Vehicle English Proficiency Act and, it was proposed by Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), cosponsored by John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi).
The Push for English Proficiency in Trucking
This news isn’t the first we’re hearing about English proficiency in the trucking industry. It’s merely an escalation of a trend that has been gaining traction since the Trump administration took office.
It started in May 2025, when President Trump signed an executive order — dubbed Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers — that directed the Department of Transportation to begin enforcing English proficiency requires more thoroughly.
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As a result, logistics agencies began doing just that, with the likes of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) establishing stricter guidelines for English proficiency, including labeling drivers that don’t comply as out-of-service immediately.
How Will English Proficiency Testing Impact Trucker Shortage?
The trucker shortage is poised to cause some serious problems for the supply chain in the coming years, with estimates putting the discrepancy at around 160,000 drivers by 2030.
As you can imagine, creating more obstacles, like English proficiency testing, isn’t going to help much. While specific data isn’t available, estimates put the potential number of non-English speaking truckers as high as 3 million, which would account for 10% of all truckers in the US.
Subsequently, it’s safe to assume that the increasingly stiff requirements in regard to English proficiency in trucking could have a drastically negative impact on the logistics industry, the supply chain, and the global economy.
