New WEIGH Act targets English proficiency and license fraud

Weigh Station Enforcement to Intercept and Guard Highways Act (WEIGH)

These measures come in response to recent accidents caused by truck drivers who either lacked valid commercial licenses, did not speak English, or were involved in the growing trend of CDL fraud observed in recent years.

Florida—the state where the crash involving driver Singh took place—has been among the most proactive in addressing the issue. Last week, Senator Ashley Moody introduced a bill in the Senate that would require CDLs to be issued only to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or individuals with a valid work visa or authorization from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The bill would also prohibit the issuance of temporary or non-domiciled CDLs altogether. Furthermore, it would mandate that all states regularly report to the federal government on their efforts to enforce English language requirements.

The latest legislative effort to tackle this growing “crisis” in road transportation is Congressman Donalds’ WEIGH Act. If passed, it would codify and enforce the Executive Order on English Language Proficiency (ELP) at all interstate weigh stations, empowering the U.S. Department of Transportation to use these facilities to uphold the order initially issued by President Trump.

“States’ failure to enforce these basic, common-sense requirements for truck drivers is putting every American motorist at risk. Safety must be the standard, not the exception,” stated Donalds in his release.