{"id":144997,"date":"2026-02-05T18:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T18:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/144997\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T18:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T18:06:09","slug":"will-floridas-new-english-only-policy-for-drivers-license-exams-make-roads-safer-nbc-6-south-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/144997\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Florida\u2019s new English-only policy for drivers license exams make roads safer? \u2013 NBC 6 South Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

In August 2025, a tractor-trailer driver\u00a0attempted to make an illegal U-turn<\/a>\u00a0on Florida\u2019s Turnpike, killing three people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The driver, Harjinder Singh, an immigrant in the U.S. illegally<\/a> who received his commercial driver\u2019s license in California, failed an English proficiency test after the crash, state officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The incident prompted outcry from some Florida politicians who said people who don\u2019t read English should not be allowed to get driver\u2019s licenses.<\/p>\n

Now, the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that all Florida driver\u2019s license written and oral exams will be administered only in English \u2014 without the option of an interpreter or translator \u2014 starting Feb. 6. The change applies to all driver license classifications.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Florida is a multilingual state. Around 30% of its residents over age 5 speak a language other than English at home,\u00a0U.S. Census data shows<\/a>. And 35% of naturalized citizens in the state say they have limited English proficiency,\u00a0according to the Migration Policy Institute.<\/a><\/p>\n

“Good reform by (Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles) to require driver exams be conducted only in English,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said of the new policy\u00a0Jan. 31 on X<\/a>. “Need to be able to read the road signs!”<\/p>\n

Nikki Fried, the state\u2019s former agriculture commissioner and current chair of the Florida Democrats, criticized the change.<\/p>\n

“In one of the most multilingual states in the country, Florida is going to implement driver\u2019s license exams exclusively in English,”\u00a0Fried posted Jan. 30 on X<\/a>. “This is not about safety, this is about racism.”<\/p>\n

DeSantis and other proponents of the new policy say it will make Florida roadways safer by ensuring drivers can read English-language road signs. The federal government has also enacted\u00a0new rules<\/a>\u00a0on English proficiency for commercial licenses.<\/p>\n

We found no academic papers or government reports showing that taking a drivers license test in a foreign language results in drivers who pose a unique threat on the road. Driving safety experts also told us they are unaware of any such studies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We contacted Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles about the safety evidence behind the policy shift and received no reply to that question by the time of publication.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When we contacted DeSantis\u2019 office, a spokesperson pointed us to his Jan. 31 X post and also noted traffic fatalities, including those caused by Singh, involving drivers who weren\u2019t proficient in English.<\/p>\n

Experts said the effect of Florida\u2019s policy on overall road safety may be small because\u00a0traffic signs typically prioritize universal symbols<\/a>\u00a0rather than words.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The standard iconography and signage used across the country is meant to be easily recognizable and understandable for drivers, and so it’s unlikely that a language barrier would make a big difference in one’s understanding of this signage,” said Joe Young, spokesperson for\u00a0 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a nonprofit funded by auto insurance companies that aims to reduce motor vehicle crashes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“In cases where words are used,” Young said, “my understanding is that there’s a deliberate effort to keep phrases short and ensure letters are large enough to be easily understood.” Words and symbols are often combined, something called “dual coding,” to ensure drivers understand the information quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Strict policies such as Florida\u2019s may also discourage people who aren\u2019t proficient in English\u00a0 from getting licenses, experts said, which could result in more unlicensed and uninsured drivers on the road.<\/p>\n

How driver\u2019s license exams in Florida are changing<\/p>\n

A driver must pass\u00a0three<\/a>\u00a0tests<\/a>\u00a0to get a Florida driver\u2019s license: a multiple choice test on traffic laws, road signs and safe driving; a driving test and a vision test.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Exams for most noncommercial driver\u2019s license classifications were previously offered in multiple languages, the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles\u00a0said<\/a>. Commercial learner\u2019s permit and driver\u2019s license exams were offered in English and Spanish.<\/p>\n

Only a handful of states offer the exams in English only,\u00a0the Tampa Bay Times reported,<\/a>\u00a0including Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many states that allow multiple languages for the knowledge exam specify that people\u00a0must understand roadway signs in English<\/a>\u00a0to pass, with some\u00a0offering separate testing<\/a>\u00a0for traffic signs where applicants identify signs by color and shape and provide an explanation of each.<\/p>\n

No evidence that drivers who take tests in foreign languages pose a higher risk<\/p>\n

PolitiFact found no conclusive, large-scale studies measuring whether people who take driving exams in a foreign language pose a higher risk on the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Multiple safety data experts, including from the\u00a0National Safety Council<\/a>, the\u00a0Insurance Institute for Highway Safety<\/a>, the\u00a0American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0AAA\u2019s Foundation for Traffic Safety<\/a>\u00a0told us they are not aware of any such research.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most traffic<\/a>\u00a0safety research<\/a>\u00a0has found that age, experience and behavior, such as distracted or impaired driving, are the strongest predictors of risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One\u00a0Jan. 28 research paper<\/a>\u00a0looked at challenges international drivers transitioning into the U.S. traffic system might face.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It found that drivers who are translating in real time face increased mental demand and can experience slower reaction times. The paper recommended that traffic education move away from being text-dominant and monolingual and toward being more visually adaptive.<\/p>\n

Young, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said states can take proven steps to reduce crashes among newly licensed drivers, including requiring more practice hours, increasing the age of licensure and imposing passenger and nighttime driving restrictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, which develops model programs in motor vehicle administration, law enforcement and highway safety, has guidelines for state noncommercial exams.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those guidelines say<\/a>\u00a0a person\u2019s inability to read or speak English “is not necessarily a barrier to proper motor vehicle operation” as long as the driver meets the knowledge requirements and is “able to interpret highway signs, signals and markings.” It is the responsibility of the licensing agency, the organization says, to ensure these conditions are met before issuing a license.<\/p>\n

When non-English speakers are unable to pass licensing exams, the guidelines say, they may be more likely to seek a license fraudulently or operate a vehicle without one.<\/p>\n

“Steps taken to accommodate the needs of foreign-speaking applicants will help prevent unqualified drivers from threatening the safety and mobility of the motoring public,” the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators guidelines say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In August 2025, a tractor-trailer driver\u00a0attempted to make an illegal U-turn\u00a0on Florida\u2019s Turnpike, killing three people.\u00a0 The driver,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,58963],"class_list":{"0":"post-144997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-florida","9":"tag-florida-headlines","10":"tag-florida-news","11":"tag-politifact"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}