Trucking news and briefs for Friday, April 25, 2025:
Wyoming Congresswoman calls on DOT to consider rescinding 2016 English-language guidance
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyoming) this month wrote a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urging the department to consider rescinding a 2016 guidance document from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration involving English language proficiency testing and enforcement policies for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) and driver inspections.
Hageman pointed to FMCSA regulations that state a qualified driver “[c]an read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.”
[Related: Truck drivers' English-language proficiency and the inspection problem, other issues]
“Failure to meet this English language proficiency (ELP) requirement constituted ineligibility to drive a CMV, resulting in such drivers being placed out of service,” Hageman said. “As you are well aware, lacking the ability to read and communicate proficiently in English, particularly as it relates to reading and understanding roadway signage, presents a major safety issue for all drivers, which is precisely why these regulations were promulgated in the first place.”
The Obama administration in 2016, however, issued guidance that no longer required FMCSA inspectors to place drivers out of service for ELP violations, adding that “[f]ormal driver interviews to confirm ELP will not be conducted during roadside inspections.” The guidance allowed drivers who cannot read, write or speak English to communicate through interpreters, smartphone apps or other means.
“When looking at available data, it is well within reason to conclude that this guidance has played a factor in the number of trucking accidents throughout the last several years,” Hageman said.
[Related: 'Labor dumping' and trucking: Are foreign CDL drivers bringing down rates?]
Hageman concluded that the DOT should consider the 2016 guidance as part of President Trump’s deregulatory agenda.
“With the number of accidents involving CMVs on the rise, it is critical that we take steps to uncover and reevaluate these sorts of concealed policies,” she said. “To that end, it is also worth pointing out that President Trump's declaration establishing English as the official national language of the U.S. demonstrates his clear commitment in this area. It is with all these points in mind that I encourage you to include this guidance in the DOT's process of complying with President Trump's” executive order directing agencies to review regulatory actions, including guidance documents, for consistency with the Constitution, U.S. law, and the Administration's priorities.
[Related: DOT calls for public input on regulations to remove, modify]
Two arrested in ‘elaborate’ diesel theft scheme
The Florida Office of Agriculture Law Enforcement (OALE) announced this week the arrest of two truck drivers who allegedly stole diesel fuel from the Love’s Travel Stop location in Milton, Florida.
A Facebook post from OALE said the two were arrested for an “elaborate fuel theft operation.”
Suspects in the case were Jesus E. Garcia and Ever Sierra, who both face felony fuel theft and fraud charges.
According to OALE, Garcia and Sierra “were seen in security footage breaking into fuel pumps using bolt cutters and manipulating the internal mechanisms to obtain nearly 500 gallons of diesel for a fraction of the cost.”
The pair also allegedly caused approximately $3,500 in property damage.
Fireworks haulers seek renewal of July 4 HOS waiver
The American Pyrotechnics Association has petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for the renewal of an hours-of-service waiver for drivers transporting fireworks during the Independence Day holiday period.
APA member companies have held waivers or exemptions during Independence Day periods each year since 2005. The most recent waiver expired on July 8, 2024.
The group’s exemption is from the 14-hour rule and the electronic logging device rule, allowing drivers to exclude off-duty and sleeper berth time of any length from the calculation of the 14-hour limit and to use paper records of duty status in lieu of an ELD for the holiday period of June 28 through July 8. APA also requests that two companies that previously did not hold exemptions be included in the request.
APA said that compliance with the 14-hour rule is “extraordinarily challenging” for members of the fireworks industry during the Independence Day period. Most fireworks display shows are transported by pyrotechnicians with hazardous material safety permits in small rented or leased commercial motor vehicles, which do not have sleeper berths. The pyrotechnician drives the display equipment and fireworks to the site, supervises the crew in setting up the display, waits for the display time, fires the display, and returns the equipment and remaining fireworks to a licensed storage facility.
To meet the demand for fireworks without the exemptions, APA noted that its members would need to hire a second driver for most trips, which would substantially increase the cost of the fireworks shows. APA said its members have demonstrated over two decades that the exemption will achieve an equivalent level of safety. APA also reported that its members have agreed to provide additional training to their drivers operating under the exemption on the importance of proper rest periods during the workday.
FMCSA is accepting public comments on the request here through May 19.
[Related: FMCSA again grants hours of service flexibility, paper logs for fireworks haulers around July 4]
