Federal withholds $40M in highway funds from Calif over English rule

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Wednesday that the federal government will withhold 40 million dollars in highway safety funding from California, saying the state is not enforcing new English proficiency requirements for commercial truck drivers. The action follows a federal investigation into an Aug. 12 highway crash in Florida in which three people were killed after a truck driver made an illegal U-turn, and reflects what Duffy described as “significant failures” in California’s enforcement of rules that took effect in June.

The English proficiency standards, established after a presidential directive, require truck drivers to demonstrate the ability to read road signs and communicate with law enforcement. Duffy said the driver involved in the Florida crash should not have been issued a commercial license. He called California the only state failing to enforce the rule and framed the matter as a safety issue for motorists and families on U.S. roads.

Federal officials said their review found that California conducted roughly 34,000 roadside inspections since the new standards took effect but recorded only one English-related violation that resulted in a driver...