EXCLUSIVE — The Transportation Department has proposed a new rule to codify English-language proficiency requirements for American truckers, as Secretary Sean Duffy looks to ensure that current language safety standards last beyond the Trump administration.Under Duffy, the Trump administration has cracked down on making sure big-rig drivers are proficient in English before they hit the road and have to operate while reading English road signs. The administration’s stricter enforcement ramped up after several high-profile fatal crashes, including one on a Florida interstate, involved non-English proficient truckers driving in violation of nearby English road signs.In April 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring truck drivers to speak English. In response to the order, Duffy rescinded an Obama-era policy that loosened English proficiency restrictions by directing road inspectors not to place non-English speaking drivers out of service automatically, but instead to enable them to give non-English speaking drivers a citation. The proposed rule announced today would codify the federal standard requiring that non-English-proficient drivers be placed out of service.