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The three-pronged study examined available data, observed commercial motor vehicle drivers during their regular schedules and included interviews with a wide range of stakeholders. (Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance via Facebook)

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The relationship between English proficiency and safety is a topic that has not been widely researched. However, the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in 2011 performed preliminary research designed to review English proficiency in relation to safe commercial motor vehicle operation. The Volpe Center is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The three-pronged study examined available data, observed commercial motor vehicle drivers during their regular schedules and included interviews with a wide range of stakeholders.

The study findings suggested that there are a number of languages other than English being spoken by CMV drivers and that the practice of employing drivers who lack English proficiency might not be uniform across industry sectors or similarly sized operations.

The report determined:

• The tasks CMV drivers perform that require language comprehension are in the interest of safety.
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• Federal and state enforcement personnel, motor carrier industry groups, individual motor carriers and drivers, state driver licensing agencies, highway departments and highway safety advocacy groups vary in their belief that English proficiency is necessary for the safe operation of trucks and buses by CMV drivers.
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• There are differences in how stakeholders interpret the FMCSA rule concerning English-language proficiency and how ­deeply they believe that a driver’s ­level of English proficiency could be assessed in the licensing and hiring processes, in the daily work environment and during roadside inspections.
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• Stakeholder groups question whether the English-language standard, as written at the time, can be applied in a fair and uniform manner.

A second FMCSA study with a cost al­located at $100,000 was begun in 2018, and a final report was delivered in 2019. However, per a 2021 web post, that report was never published. The agency declined to comment on the reason the report has not been published.

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