Thread: TX: Bill says drivers need to know English to drive a big ri

http://www.khou.com/business/stories/kh ... 355cb.html

Bill says drivers need to know English to drive a big rig

06:54 PM CST on Thursday, February 22, 2007

By Rucks Russell / 11 News

On any given day in Houston, Manuel Moran’s big-rig tractor trailer is just on the move.

Proposed bill would require anyone seeking a commercial drivers license pass a spoken and written English proficiency exam first.
His skills behind the wheel have kept him safe for more than three decades, but his language skills could soon be put to the test.

A lawmaker in Austin has introduced a bill, requiring that anyone seeking a commercial drivers license pass a spoken and written English proficiency exam first.

“I believe someone going down the road with 80,000 pounds needs to be able to read the road signs,” said Representative Tim Jackson.

He sites no studies for his efforts, just a firm conviction that operating commercial vehicles Texas, requires a firm grasp of the native tongue.

Jackson calls it a matter of public safety.

Rick Dovalina with LULAC call it Texas politics at its worse. “Because it’s in to be anti immigrant. It’s just bashing.”

And instead of making driving conditions safer, some fear it could have the opposite effect, by steering quality applicants away.

Thomas Arcidiacono owns an east Houston shipping company called start trucking. “The good driver is a shortage that’s being created worse and worse every day for a variety of reasons, and this would just be another one.”

That’s why drivers like Moran believe mastering the rules of the road, is far more important than any language test could ever be.

Ah, so learning English AND mastering the rules of the road are now mutually exclusive?

Rick Dovalina with LULAC call it Texas politics at its worse. “Because it’s in to be anti immigrant. It’s just bashing

Well Maybe LULAC would like to see road signs a mile high since There are 6800 known languages spoken in the 200 countries of the world. 2261 have writing systems. OOPS I forgot, LULAC works for the Mexican government and only cares for there wants.

Speaking English should be required for getting any driver's license. Our country is being run from Mexico. How much money are they pouring into america instead of building their own economy up.

Rick Dovalina with LULAC call it Texas politics at its worse. “Because it’s in to be anti immigrant. It’s just bashing.”

The Air Traffic Control system works pretty well worldwide in English. Go tell the FAA it's immigrant bashing.