BILLINGS — An executive order, signed on Monday by President Donald Trump, requires all truck drivers to demonstrate their ability to communicate effectively in English.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 18% of the truck drivers in the U.S. are foreign-born. While the requirement for English proficiency is not new to the commercial trucking industry, Adam Grill, president of Billings-based Legacy Corporation International Trucking Academy, noted that it has not been enforced in recent years.
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"It's really nothing new. I think it's important for people to know that it's actually been around a long time," Grill said on Wednesday. "Everything is delivered to you by truck drivers. So, if trucks just magically disappeared, then our entire way of life and everything we know about it would cease to exist."
Trump's order states the administration will enforce the federal law to "protect the safety of American truckers, drivers, passengers, and others including by upholding the safety enforcement regulations that ensures anyone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle is properly qualified and proficient in our national language, English."
Longtime truck driver Shannon Mahany, who was stopped Wednesday at a Lockwood truck stop, said he supports the executive order, believing it will enhance safety on the roads.
"You need to be able to understand the street signs. You need to be able to understand your directions on where you're going," Mahany said. "Hopefully, they'll either learn the language or get out of the industry."
Michelle Mahany, Shannon's wife, also believes the mandate being enforced will help improve safety.
"Our industry is kind of dangerous in a way, a lot dangerous. And when you have drivers who don't understand the language, can't communicate, it makes them more dangerous," Michelle said. "I think it's actually going to be better for the industry and make it safer."
Despite his support for the mandate, Grill insists that the requirement should not exclude immigrants from the industry.
"I don't think that that means that we should only have Americans driving trucks. (My company has people) in Europe right now as we speak. I'm trying to get drivers from other countries and also learn from European ways on how we can improve our driving in the United States," Grill said. "My grandparents were immigrants. So I don't think that should be a barrier. But I do think that especially for highway safety and for uniformity in the industry, it's a good thing."
Enforcement of this mandate is set to begin in 60 days.
"A very large portion of our industry are individuals that speak languages other than English. So it's going to have an impact. And it's hard to tell what that long-term economic impact will be," Grill said.
