barnhart wrote: ↑Mon Aug 31, 2026 6:30 pm
Grace wrote: ↑Mon Aug 31, 2026 6:21 pm
barnhart wrote: ↑Mon Aug 31, 2026 5:01 pm
According to federal safety data, at least 17 fatal accidents involving illegal immigrant truck operators have resulted in 30 deaths since the beginning of 2025.
Every death or serious injury by vehicle is one to many. Why would anyone think it is okay to increase those statistics, at the hands of an illegal migrant driver who shouldn't be driving in the first place. We have enough of bad accidents causing serious injury and deaths by citizens, why add to that by illegal immigrants?
If the rates of incident mirror all other drivers than it is a traffic safety issue, not an immigration issue.
Legitimate CDL drivers go through a battery of hard tests. They need a physical every two years, and depending what meds they might be on, they must have one every year. Yet we are seeing illegal immigrants being granted CDL licenses, who can't read English! I find that unconscionable and nothing to joke about.
I don't know what is actually happening but I'm not nearly as convinced English proficiency is that important for truck drivers. Plenty of English speakers drive into Mexico on a regular basis and there doesn't seem to be an emergency. I live in an area where many, possibly most Uber and truck drivers have limited English proficiency and yet we survive.
I think it's a bigger issue than it might seem like at first glance. Putting aside the fact that they are here illegally and yet somehow obtain not just a drivers license but a CDL boggles my mind. Do you know all the time, money, and effort that goes into obtaining a CDL? In my state, a few years ago, legislation passed that applicants need to go to college to obtain a CDL. If all immigrants have to jump thru the same hoops I do wonder how that's even possible. But I digress.
I live less than 2 miles from an interstate. I've observed a few things over the years. First, I am amazed how many accidents happen in the same stretch of highway. I would estimate every week in a 20 mile stretch often involving commercial vehicles. Secondly, most truck drivers seem unable to read basic roads signs. There's always an endless amount of road construction, bridges being replaced, etc. Trucks are regulated to using a particular lane. Most trucks seem to either ignore it, don't see it, or can't read. Thirdly, where construction happens, accidents happen.
I think it's fair to point out that traffic on the interstate is different from NYC or Mexico.
One difference I assume is speed. Most interstates around here seem to have a 70 mile per hour speed limit and many folks exceed that by 10 miles per hour or more. That makes accident more dangerous, especially commercial vehicles considering the added weight. In construction zones speed slows or stops and even with warning signs rear end collisions seem inevitable. I've seem multiple accidents where lanes split. It's unfathomable to me how you can roll a semi in the middle of the road with lowered speed limits. However, if you can't read English, it's dark outside, and your lane disappears that might cause you to crash out.
Driving American roads without knowing English with a regular license seems dangerous enough. Allowing non-English speakers to obtain CDL seems reckless. Obtaining a drivers license is a privilege, not a right. It's not a basic human need like food. There are alternatives. Safer roads should take priority over whatever is driving the desire to give drivers license to folks that aren't qualified.