OOIDA pushes FMCSA to make English-proficiency violations out-of-service offenses

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed formal comments on Oct. 9 urging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to codify English Language Proficiency as an out-of-service violation, according to CDLLife on Oct. 12. The comments back FMCSA's Aug. 10, 2026 notice of proposed rulemaking, which would align the federal motor carrier safety regulations with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria.

OOIDA argues the requirement went “largely unenforced and unreported for a decade” after CVSA removed English proficiency from its out-of-service criteria in 2015, and blames the growth of non-domiciled CDLs issued to foreign drivers over the same period. The group says that since roadside enforcement resumed in June 2025, inspectors have issued 97,113 English-proficiency violations — but only 28,030 of them resulted in a driver being placed out of service, a 28.9% out-of-service rate.

The comments also highlight wide state-by-state variation: California placed drivers out of service on 54.2% of English-proficiency violations, followed by New Mexico at 42.6%, while Arizona came in at 16.6% and Texas at 6.8%. “English Language Proficiency is not optional, it is essential,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said in the filing.

If FMCSA finalizes the rule, a failed English-proficiency check at a roadside inspection would take the driver — and the truck — off the road on the spot, rather than ending in a citation alone.