In 2025, federal inspections in the USA intensified the verification of English language proficiency among commercial truck drivers — leading to 274 drivers being taken off the road in Arizona from June to October after failing English tests. This information is contained in industry reports on current safety compliance. The source points to this figure — it is important to emphasize that the fact of being taken off the route is confirmed by official federal criteria.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the federal regulator in the field of motor carrier safety, has reactivated strict rules for assessing English Language Proficiency (ELP), which require drivers to be able to read road signs, understand instructions, and communicate in English during inspections. These rules are based on federal regulation 49 CFR § 391.11(b)(2), and in 2025, the FMCSA issued a new policy on the application of these standards during road inspections. More details on the language assessment approach and historical context can be read in the FMCSA policy review. The policy is detailed in the publication on Enforcement Policy.
This updated guidance canceled the 2016 policy, where English violations could only be recorded as remarks, and instead, from June 2025, they can lead to the immediate removal of a driver from the route (out-of-service).
While Arizona became one of the first states to openly report the number of drivers removed, this is not an isolated action. According to the leadership of the U.S. Department of Transportation, thousands of drivers were taken out of service across the country in 2025 due to non-compliance with English requirements. For example, at the end of October, DOT leadership reported over 7,000 such cases since the beginning of the year, reflecting a change in the approach to safety at the federal level.
Federal officials emphasize that English proficiency requirements are specifically for road safety. The inability to communicate with inspectors, understand road signs, or fill out official documents can, in their opinion, increase accident risks.
However, industry associations and individual business representatives express serious concerns:
- Critics point out there is no direct statistical link between English proficiency and reduced accident rates.
- Many drivers in the USA are immigrants or speakers of other languages, and for some, such checks become a barrier to work.
- For small businesses, the sudden removal of drivers from routes means loss of income and expenses for additional training.
Moreover, the impact of such inspections on the already experiencing staff shortage in the transport sector is being discussed. The reduction in the number of active drivers may complicate logistics operations and increase transportation costs.
Current inspection actions are not a new norm but an intensification of the enforcement of existing federal requirements following changes in guiding approaches in 2025. Given the industry's reaction and possible legal claims regarding the inspection methodology, this topic will remain a subject of discussion among carriers, regulators, and business representatives in the coming months.