Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, truck drivers must understand the English language.
Language barriers present significant risks in trucking collisions. Consider the importance of the challenges presented just by reading road signs.
The rules governing truck drivers, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, specifically state that operators of commercial vehicles must be able to read and communicate in English. Those rules specifically require operators be able to:
“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.”
See FMCSR 391.11(b)(2)
We have handled serious injury cases caused by truck drivers who could not adequately complete the employment application on their own because of language barriers. These barriers present significant risks to the motoring public, and must be considered in the context of any trucking collision.
If you or a family member is injured in a truck accident, we would be happy to speak with you and thoroughly investigate the case.