A video released by Fox News captures the moment when an official from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) took a Cuban truck driver out of service after the driver was unable to identify basic traffic signs or communicate in English during a roadside inspection.
In the images, the officer is seen showing a right exit sign and asking the driver what it means. The Cuban nervously responds in Spanish "exit, right exit."
When asked if he can answer that in English, he replies that he cannot.
In another instance, when the officer asks how good his English is, the Cuban replies: "I understand a little, just a bit".
Finally, when asked what another signal meant and what to do if he came across it, he replied, "no, no."
The driver defended himself by saying in Spanish that he had been a truck driver for 40 years, since Cuba.
However, given the truck driver's inability to understand and respond fluently to what he was being asked, the FDOT officer was direct:
"If you do not speak enough English to operate a commercial vehicle, and you also lack sufficient knowledge of the signals to communicate that, you will be put out of service right now."
During the same operation, Florida troopers revealed to Fox News a figure that illustrates the magnitude of the problem: nearly 50% of the truck drivers stopped on a major highway in the state do not speak English.
The operation is part of the executive order from Trump regarding English for truck drivers that came into effect on June 25, 2025.
The measure reactivated the strict enforcement of federal law 49 CFR § 391.11, which has required for decades that commercial drivers be able to read and speak English proficiently.
That regulation had been weakened in 2016 under the Obama administration, when it was allowed for drivers with language deficiencies to receive only a court summons without being removed from service.
Trump's order reversed that directive and expressly prohibits the use of interpreters, reference cards, or translation apps during assessments since last year.
The most direct political trigger was the fatal accident that occurred on Florida Turnpike on August 12, 2025, when Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old undocumented Indian truck driver, made an illegal U-turn in a restricted area, resulting in the deaths of three people.
Singh, who did not speak English, answered only two out of twelve verbal questions and one out of four traffic signs in exams taken after the incident.
Florida requires driver's license exams only in English starting February 6, 2026, including commercial license exams (CDL).
Nationwide, the FMCSA has removed nearly 9,500 truck drivers from service in 2026 for failing to meet English language requirements.
The measure strikes particularly hard at the Cuban community, as it is estimated that there are between 20,000 and 25,000 truck drivers of Cuban origin actively working in the United States, primarily in South Florida, many of whom have limited proficiency in the language.
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