If You Can't Read the Road Signs, You Shouldn't Be Driving a Semi on Our Highways

Just weeks after I raised the alarm bells about illegal foreign-born semi drivers, a nightmare scenario occurred this week in Northeast Missouri.

A semi driver came barreling through Lincoln County, driving north on Highway 61 on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic. For several miles, he put the lives of countless Missourians in jeopardy. An alert driver quickly notified the Highway Patrol and got video of the incident. Police were able to pull over the truck before anyone got hurt.

The driver of the truck held a commercial driver’s license from Minnesota. Missouri State Highway Patrol administered an English proficiency test, and the driver failed. He was placed out of service and charged. I’m grateful for the Highway Patrol’s quick action. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has also taken action on this specific incident, with DOT conducting a further investigation.

Secretary Duffy implemented rules earlier this month to address this growing problem and is working with states to get these drivers off the road. I want to make sure that Congress does the same.

Earlier this week, in his State of the Union address, President Trump specifically called for passing “Delilah’s Law,” named after a 5-year-old who was injured in a pileup caused by a semi driver who was here illegally and got a CDL in California. Delilah and her father were the audience for the President’s speech. This bill would ensure that only people here legally, who are proficient in the English language, and who have a clean driving record, can drive on American roadways with a CDL.

It’s just common sense. If you can’t speak, read, or write English—like the driver of the semi in Lincoln County or the countless others that have caused tragic accidents—then you obviously can’t understand highway signs, and have no business driving an 18-wheeler down our highways. 

Unfortunately, this safety crisis on our roads is getting worse by the day. There is absolutely no reason these foreign drivers should have ever gotten a license to drive a semi, but left-wing states have handed them out like candy. We’re now paying the price. We’ve got to address it, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do in the Transportation Committee.  

Sincerely,

Sam Graves