(The Center Square) – One day after the horrific video images of the second triple-fatal crash in two months involving a person accused of illegally entering America, a North Carolina congressman is pushing for help through legislation.
Standardized Assessment for Fluency in English for Drivers Act, or SAFE Drivers Act as the acronym unfolds, would establish uniform English proficiency for all commercial driver’s license applications nationwide.
The bill of U.S. Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., helped by Texas Republican Rep. Troy Nehls and Missouri Republican Rep. Bob Onder, is at least the fourth congressional proposal since Harjinder Singh on Aug. 12 with an 18-wheeler tried to make a U-turn on the Florida Turnpike through a point in the divided highway marked “official use only,” leading to the deaths of three people in a minivan.
Tuesday on the 10 Freeway in Ontario, Calif., 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh of India was driving an 18-wheeler that never braked before instigating a rear-end collision with eight vehicles, said the California Highway Patrol. In addition to three dead, four others were hospitalized.
Thursday, Homeland Security filed an arrest detainer for Jashanpreet Singh, saying he entered the country through the southern border in 2022 and was released into the United States by the Biden administration.
Neither man named Singh is related, according to published reports. Each is believed to be illegally in the country, Harjinder Singh having come through in 2018.
“If you can’t read ‘Bridge Out Ahead’ or communicate with a state trooper at a crash scene, you have no business driving an 80,000-pound truck on American highways,” Harrigan said. “We have federal rules that require English proficiency, but no standardized test to enforce them, so states like California hand out commercial licenses to drivers who can’t understand basic safety instructions. The SAFE Drivers Act fixes that by requiring one uniform English test nationwide before any CDL is issued. No more guesswork, no more state-by-state loopholes, just one standard that keeps Americans safe.”
The North Carolina Trucking Association says the legislation “is a long-overdue, commonsense solution that strengthens safety and consistency across our nation’s highways.” The American Trucking Association says, “The ability to read road signs, understand the rules of the road, and communicate with law enforcement officials is vital to ensuring the safety of all motorists.”
Florida’s attorney general is asking for revocation of commercial driver’s license program authority and associated federal funding in California and Washington. James Uthmeier said the states’ choices on rules set by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration are the reason.
The WEIGH Act, known as House Resolution 5177, was authored by Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds. It would have weigh stations review CDLs and verify English language proficiency. Electronic systems like PrePass and Drivewyze have created weigh station bypasses and the ability to weigh semi-trucks in motion.
Stop Greenlighting Driver Licenses for Illegal Immigrants Act is the bill of Texas Republican Rep. Jodey Arrington. Federal transportation funds would be withheld from states issuing driver’s licenses to people illegally in America.
North Carolina Republican Rep. David Rouzer authored the Non-Domiciled CDL Integrity Act. It tightens licensing requirements as well.
A fifth proposal is from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, providing an avenue for Congress to prioritize safety over “cheap labor.”
