WASHINGTON D.C.—On Friday, February 23, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Sean Duffy, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator, Derek Barrs, announced the next measure to be implemented to improve driver safety on America’s roadways.
“When we get on the road, we should expect that we should be safe. And that those who drive those 80,000-pound big rigs, that they are well-trained, they’re well-qualified, and they’re going to be safe,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy.
Commercial Driver’s License(CDL) tests will no longer be administered in the driver’s language of choice. This measure specifically affects states that have offered driving tests in multiple languages. California, for example, offered the CDL tests in a reported 25 different languages.
New drivers and those who renew their licenses will now be required to take the test in English. This will make the roads safer because if an individual cannot read or cannot read in English, then they would not be able to read common road signs.
On January 30, 2019, a truck driver by the name of Harjinder Singh collapsed the Dale Bend Bridge. It was a historic bridge in Yell County, Arkansas. The bridge had a 6-ton weight limit. The historic bridge collapsed into the Petit Jean River after Singh drove a truck that was 64,000 lbs over the weight limit.
After the bridge collapsed under the weight of Singh’s truck, he moved to California, where he applied for and was granted a new CDL
In August 2025, Singh was involved in a fatal crash in Fort Pierce, Florida. He made an illegal U-turn, killing three people.
Reports indicate that Singh attended the now-defunct Skyline Trucking School in Washington state. After reportedly failing the CDL knowledge exam 10 times, he was issued his CDL.
The Skyline Trucking School was closed in 2025, following an investigation that linked the school with the issuance of nearly 1,600 fraudulently issued CDL licenses. Singh was one of those drivers.
Florida authorities reported that Singh entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, California is one of 19 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, that willingly issues driver’s licenses, regardless of immigration status.
This law is not exclusive to foreign nationals obtaining licenses. In December 2015, Mary Lambright, 23, collapsed the Iron Bridge, which is another historic bridge located in Paoli, Indiana.
This historic bridge also had a 6-ton weight limit. The truck and trailer she drove weighed 60,000 pounds (30 tons). There were no reported injuries in this crash. When questioned, Ms. Lambright explained that she did not know how many pounds were in six tons.
“I want to thank Secretary Duffy for his leadership and the great team we have at FMCSA for the work that they do, and [for] saving lives,” said FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs.
