On May 29th, a tour bus plowed into stopped traffic on I-95 in Virginia at 2:30 in the morning. Five people died, among them an entire family traveling home to Massachusetts. The driver, a Chinese immigrant who officials said did not speak English, was charged with five counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Investigators asked a simple question: how did this man get a license to drive a bus? The answer is more complicated than anybody expected. To learn how this happened, you have to understand something about how commercial driver’s licenses are issued in the United States. And it starts with a process that most people don’t know much about.
I’m Susan Ferrechio, and this is The Washington Times Q&A on the push to reform commercial driver’s license testing.
Why does the federal government treat CDL licenses differently?
There are two parts to a commercial driver’s license test. Why does the federal government treat them differently?
Commercial driver’s license testing starts with a written knowledge test, which in many states has long been offered in multiple languages other than English. Applicants must also pass a driving skills test. Unlike the written test, it must be taken in English with no help from an interpreter in all 50 states.
The federal government has long allowed states to offer written tests in different languages. But the Transportation Department is now cracking down on this practice. It’s pushing states to administer the written test, like the driving test, in English only.
How long has the federal government known about this and what have they done?
The inconsistency between the two tests is long standing. But the federal government is taking steps to force states to ensure that truck and bus drivers understand English, following a string of fatal accidents involving drivers who didn’t understand English. Federal officials recently threatened to withhold $40 million from California until the state agreed to enforce English proficiency standards during roadside truck and bus traffic stops.
Texas and Florida have changed the written test for a commercial driver’s license to English only. But other states have been slow to adopt this change.
Which states let you get a commercial driver’s license without speaking English?
There are nearly two dozen states that offer the written test in multiple languages. In New York, for example, you can take the test in English, Spanish, Chinese and Russian.
In California, the test is available in six languages, including Arabic and Punjabi. Massachusetts just recently expanded their commercial driver’s license testing languages to Spanish and Portuguese. Colorado offers the tests in English and Spanish, while Washington state lets applicants take the test in Spanish, Russian, and Serbo-Croatian.
Virginia offers the tests in “several languages” according to the Division of Motor Vehicles website.
Who is actually responsible?
The crash happened in Virginia. But the license was issued in New York. Who’s actually responsible?
Federal investigators earlier this month subpoenaed and obtained from New York State all records related to the commercial driver’s license obtained in New York by Jing Sheng Dong, 48, who is charged with five counts of involuntary manslaughter in the Virginia crash.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is investigating the driver’s training and licensing. An official told The Washington Times it will “hold any state training school or company accountable that put a dangerous driver behind the wheel.”
What happened and how might CDL licensing have contributed to the accident?
Virginia State Police say Mr. Dong failed to slow for traffic ahead of a construction zone on I-95. It’s not clear whether highway signs warned motorists in English of the impending gridlock. According to federal officials, Mr. Dong refused to take an English proficiency test after the crash, and according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the driver did not speak English.
How will the federal government crack down on non-English speaking truck and bus drivers?
The federal government is scrutinizing driving schools that help non-English speakers and other unqualified individuals obtain commercial driver’s licenses.
It is also pressuring states to end all commercial driver’s license testing in languages other than English.
In February, the Transportation Department issued a new rule preventing foreign drivers who have not been subject to consular and interagency screening from receiving a commercial driver’s license. This closed a loophole that let some drivers with past traffic violations in foreign countries get trucking and bus licenses in the United States.
House Republicans in March introduced legislation that would tighten the requirements for obtaining a commercial driver’s license. So far, there’s been no action on this bill.
Read more: Roadway disasters pile up as states buck Trump administration’s call to end non-English CDL tests
