- Pennsylvania could soon require English tests for new drivers.
- Written and road tests would both be English-only by law.
- Lawmakers claim it’s a safety issue, but stats suggest otherwise.
Two State Representatives in Pennsylvania have announced plans to introduce legislation requiring people to pass an English proficiency exam in order to receive their driver’s license. On top of that, they want other tests to be offered exclusively in English.
More: Thousands Of Truck Drivers Taken Off US Roads For Not Speaking English
In a memo released by Republicans Marla Brown and Joe Hamm, the legislators claimed that “Due to the mass influx of immigrants into the United States, we have continually seen accidents caused” by “individuals lacking the ability or desire to learn and effectively speak or recognize the English language.”
What’s Behind the Proposal?
They described the issue as a “major safety concern,” insisting that drivers should be able to read and understand traffic signs and communicate clearly with police.
“We cannot allow drivers who do not understand the English language to obtain a driver’s license within Pennsylvania,” the memo reads. “It is simply too dangerous to all who choose to make the Commonwealth their home.”
To address the issue, the two lawmakers are planning to introduce legislation that would require both the written test and road test to be offered exclusively in English. This would be a slight change as only the road test is English-only today.
The representatives also want the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to develop an English proficiency exam to ensure “every newly licensed driver in the Commonwealth demonstrates the ability to read and speak the English language.”
Every new driver would be required to pass this test, but people who currently have a driver’s license or are simply renewing their license would be exempt.
However, that wouldn’t apply to legal immigrants. Instead, they’d have to retake the English proficiency exam in order to renew their license.
The representatives also propose banning interpreters during tests and require that the state only provide a driver’s manual in English.
Additionally, they want to tweak commercial driver’s license requirements to ensure the knowledge test would be given exclusively in English. However, there would be some accommodation for people who use sign language.
Alcohol and Speeding is the Big Threat
While the representatives implied there has been a huge increase in accidents caused by recent immigrants, the state’s own numbers show the number of crashes and fatalities have remained pretty steady.
In particular, there were 117,899 crashes in 2021 and 115,938 in 2022. Those numbers dropped to 110,382 in 2023 and 110,765 in 2024.
The number of fatalities has also dropped significantly since 2021 and 2022, when up to 1,230 people died on Pennsylvania roads. Last year, that number fell to 1,127.
While the state doesn’t have a breakdown of accidents and fatalities caused by non-English speakers, they have stats on speeding and drunk driving. Unsurprisingly, these are big contributors to the death toll.
Of the 1,127 people killed last year, 244 of the fatalities were alcohol-related while 263 were speeding-related. This means nearly 45% of fatal accidents were caused by one of these two issues.
