Donald Trump (left), Harjinder Singh (Agencies)
Trump administration has warned that California, Washington, and New Mexico may face significant cuts in federal safety funding unless they enforce English language requirements for commercial truck drivers – a move spurred by a recent fatal crash in Florida involving an Indian-origin driver, reported Fox news.Transportation secretary Sean Duffy told reporters the three states have 30 days to comply with English language proficiency (ELP) mandates, or risk losing millions under the motor carrier safety assistance program. “States don’t get to pick and choose which federal safety rules to follow,” he said. “As we saw with the horrific Florida crash that killed three, when states fail to enforce the law, they put the driving public in danger,” the news outlet quoted. The threatened cuts are substantial, $33 million for California, $10.5 million for Washington, and $7 million for New Mexico.The new enforcement follows a deadly crash on August 12, when an Indian origin trucker Harjinder Singh – living in the US illegally – made a U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike. The resulting accident killed all three occupants of a minivan. Singh has since been charged with vehicular homicide and immigration violations. Duffy accused the states of lax enforcement after internal reviews revealed widely varying practices. In California, more than 34,000 inspections led to only one driver taken off the road for failing the language test. In Washington, out of more than 6,000 inspections, only four drivers were removed. New Mexico reportedly enforced no such removals. “This is about keeping people safe on the road… we need to make sure that those… driving big rigs… can understand the road signs, that they’ve been well-trained,” Duffy emphasised. The political fallout has begun. California governor Gavin Newsom’s office responded sharply: “This is rich. The Trump Administration approved the federal work permit for the man who killed 3 people – and now they’re scrambling to shift blame after getting caught,” calling the announcement “a big joke.”
