All truckers and bus drivers will be required to take commercial driver's license tests in English

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced on Friday, February 20, 2026, that all truckers and bus drivers in the United States will be required to take their commercial driver's license tests in English as the Trump administration expands its aggressive campaign to improve safety in the transportation industry and remove unqualified drivers from the road, with Florida already implementing this requirement. The new policy aims to ensure that commercial drivers can read road signs and communicate effectively with law enforcement, addressing a long-standing issue where many states allowed tests in multiple languages despite federal requirements for English proficiency. California, for instance, had offered tests in 20 different languages, creating potential safety hazards on the nation's highways. The administration's crackdown comes in response to several high-profile crashes involving drivers who couldn't communicate properly, including a fatal Florida accident that killed three people and an Indiana crash that claimed four lives from an Amish community earlier this month. Duffy emphasized that Americans expect safety when sharing roads with 80,000-pound commercial vehicles, stating that problems in the trucking industry have been 'allowed to rot and no one's paying attention to it for decades.' The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has already taken action against 557 driving schools for failing to meet basic safety standards and has been targeting states that issued licenses to immigrants who shouldn't have qualified. Beyond language requirements, the administration is also targeting fraudulent trucking companies known as 'chameleon carriers' that repeatedly change names and registration numbers to avoid enforcement after crashes or violations. Currently, companies only pay $300 and show proof of insurance to register, with audits often delayed or conducted virtually, making it easy for bad actors to continue operating. The new measures will strengthen registration requirements, increase spot checks by inspectors, and ensure electronic logging devices are accurate. Dan Horvath of the American Trucking Associations welcomed the increased enforcement, noting that only a small fraction of trucking companies ever undergo full compliance reviews with in-person inspections.