(Radio Iowa) – The legislature has passed a bill to require anyone seeking a commercial driver’s license or C-D-L permit in Iowa to pass an English proficiency test. Representative Ann Meyer of Fort Dodge says new applicants and those renewing a commercial driver’s license must be tested. “To demonstrate they are able to read and speak the English language to speak and converse with the general public,” Meyer said, “(and) understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language.”
The bill passed the House yesterday (Wednesday) on a 75 to 22 vote and it goes to the governor. It cleared the Senate earlier with even wider bipartisan support. A truck driver could be sentenced to up to a year in prison and fined a thousand dollars if they’re pulled over and police determine they lack English language skills. The driver’s trucking company would be fined 10-thousand dollars. Senator Cindy Winkler, a Democrat from Davenport, says the bill is about safety for the motoring public.
“The focus of the bill is basically to hold the companies accountable for hiring drivers that are qualified to be driving on the road with an 80,000 pound truck,” she said. Representative Elizabeth Wilson, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, sees an imbalance in the bill, but she voted for it. “We obviously need to hold carriers and drivers responsible for being able to clearly understand the rules of hte road,” Wilson said. “I’m still disappointed in this bill that we did not hold the carriers accountable for the same prison time that we would a driver. That’s bothersome to me.”
Ten months ago the Trump Administration issued guidelines that let law enforcement officers stop truckers from continuing their route if the driver is unable to answer questions posed in English. According to the Iowa Motor Truck Association, several hundred drivers have been stopped in Iowa as a result. The trade group, which represents 400 trucking companies and suppliers in Iowa, proposed the initial version of the bill in January.
