5 States Mandate English Proficiency for Truckers — Fines and Jail Time

Indiana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Arkansas, and Oklahoma are passing laws requiring English proficiency for truck drivers. Violations may result in significant fines and even jail time.

The pressure on language requirements for truck drivers is intensifying across the United States 🇺🇸

What's Happening?

Five states are leading a new wave of laws requiring English proficiency for commercial truck operators:

• 🔴 Indiana
• 🔴 South Dakota
• 🔴 Wyoming
• 🔴 Arkansas
• 🔴 Oklahoma

Why Now?

The initiative follows several fatal crashes involving immigrant drivers and federal data showing a higher crash rate among drivers cited for English proficiency violations.

Consequences

Violations may result in:

• Significant fines
• Jail time
• CDL suspension

Context: The Perfect Storm

This comes on top of the non-domiciled CDL rule taking effect March 16 (this Sunday), affecting up to 200,000 drivers. Between both regulations, the freight market could see a driver shortage and higher rates.

If you're a trucker and English isn't your first language, now is the time to prepare. Training programs are available, and at The Truck Savers™ we offer courses that can help you stay compliant with regulations.