BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The federal government is withholding $40 million in funding from California, accusing the state of not enforcing English language requirements for truck drivers.
The U.S. Department of Transportation changed requirements in June for truck drivers to demonstrate English proficiency, following a deadly Florida crash in August involving a foreign truck driver who made an illegal U-turn. Now the department is withholding funding from California for not enforcing the rule.
"The big thing I think for the United States is being able to understand and read the traffic signs, which I completely agree 100%. You know, as a driver, you have to be able to read signs and understand what you can and cannot do legally," Rodriguez said.
Mike Rodriguez, co-owner of On The Move Trucking School, says they are a bilingual school and have taught many of their students how to speak English fluently because the test they have to pass is in English. He says it's something they have taken seriously before the rule change.
"So I think Bakersfield is one of the few cities in California who is enforcing it, at least to my understanding, but they judge it, I guess, by the whole state, who is not," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez says the bigger issue at play is a recent rule change that requires truck drivers to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Now, anyone with a work visa is unable to get a CDL or commercial driver's license.
"And we're seeing a toll on our finances, we're seeing our student numbers are going down, it's a huge impact for us," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez says several local trucking schools have closed down as a result and fears the new requirement will negatively affect the trucking industry nationwide.
"So putting a hold on truckers is, it's a big thing, and I think it's going to hurt us financially as a state," Rodriguez said.
The Transportation Department says to get this funding reinstated, California must comply with the English language rule.
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