Trucker fined $500 for failing roadside English test

[yao416]

http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/463496

TUSCALOOSA, ALA.–Manuel Castillo drove through Alabama in a truck filled with onions and left with a $500 ticket for something he didn't think he was doing: speaking English poorly.

Castillo, who was stopped on his way back to California, said he knows federal law requires him to be able to converse in English with an officer but he thought his language skills were good enough to avoid a ticket.

Still, Castillo said he plans to pay the maximum fine of $500 rather than return to fight the ticket.

"It just doesn't seem fair to be ticketed if I wasn't doing anything dangerous on the road," he said.

An Alabama state trooper thought Castillo, 50, couldn't speak English well enough to drive an 18-wheeler when he was headed back to California from picking up onions in Glennville, Ga. A driver for 20 years, Castillo was stopped in west Alabama for a routine inspection.

Castillo, who says he speaks English at roughly a Grade 3 level, said he understood when the trooper asked him where he was heading and to see his commercial driver's licence and registration. He said he responded in English, though he speaks with an accent.

Castillo wasn't speeding, and the inspection and computer check turned up no offences, so he was surprised to get a ticket for being a "non-English-speaking driver."

Federal law requires that anyone with a commercial driver's licence speak English well enough to talk with police. Authorities last year issued 25,230 tickets nationwide for violations. Now the federal government is trying to tighten the English requirement, saying the change is needed for safety reasons.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has proposed rules requiring anyone applying for a commercial driver's licence to speak English during a road test or vehicle inspection.

Does Toronto have this law?? it's ridiculous for someone only can speak a little english to get a ticket!

[KanDaMan]

LOL

How do you drive a truck for 20 years through the America's and not learn to speak some decent english.

Either the officer was an a-hole or the driver was that bad.

However; this happened in Alabama maybe the drivers hick wasn’t up to par...

[pitz]

Poor English has been a serious safety issue in the aviation industry.

Seriously, there was a truck that caught on fire about a mile away from where I live a few weeks ago at a truck stop. Its cargo -- 43 tons of dynamite, heading for a mine.

The fire was put out before it got to the dynamite, but if the trucker didn't have good communications skills....

[TapemanPL]

wouldn't this type of law change from every officer? one could do the bare minimum where if the driver can understand what i'm asking it's fine. but the other wants the driver to speak fluently

[HP_John]

Way too subjective. Officer having a bad day or a xenophobe could exploit this system too easily.

[PhilipsElectronics]

I never understood how someone can live in a country for 20 years and not master the language... I'm sure that if the cop was being unreasonable about it, it would be fairly easy to get the ticket revoked by taking a test to prove such was the case. As mentioned in the previous comment, this could be a serious problem if their was an emergency, amongst being frustrating.

[bobby5]

... 43 tons of dynamite, heading for a mine.
The fire was put out before it got to the dynamite, but if the trucker didn't have good communications skills....

We would see Canada Day fireworks celebrations all over again

[bobby5]

If such silly ticketing reason applies here, the govt would get as much revenues from this as speeding fines

[leon200608]

http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/463496



Does Toronto have this law?? it's ridiculous for someone only can speak a little english to get a ticket!

Well, I hope the City of Montreal doesn't have such law for the French language. I got a speeding ticket in Laval few months ago, the officer didn't not speak a single English word to me! Though I do understand a little bit French but it's still quite frustrating.

[Menthol]

http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/463496



Does Toronto have this law?? it's ridiculous for someone only can speak a little english to get a ticket!

The city will make a bundle by doing routine stops along Steeles in the westend.

[iluvmikeharris]

he speaks English at roughly a Grade 3 level

Which means anyone who can read the Toronto Sun could understand him, so what's the big deal?

[HP_John]

I never understood how someone can live in a country for 20 years and not master the language... I'm sure that if the cop was being unreasonable about it, it would be fairly easy to get the ticket revoked by taking a test to prove such was the case. As mentioned in the previous comment, this could be a serious problem if their was an emergency, amongst being frustrating.

I remember some sort of study that after age 30, people just can't learn new languages fluently. My (former) teacher's mother, came to Canada from Italy 50 yrs ago & still can't speak fluent English (she is about 80 yrs old now, about 30 when she came to Canada according to my teacher).'

In any case, I just think it's too subjective & leaves you at the mercy of an officer who is having a bad day, or worst, a xenophobe. I remember in Quebec, when I was a bit lost I was outside a police station. For whatever reason, there were many officers standing outside the station. I asked them for directions, incredibly, all claimed to not be able to speak English (there was literally about 10 officers yet supposedly none spoke English!).

[PhilipsElectronics]

Ya I've heard that it's definitely harder, and that you can't lose your accent either. But I've known plenty of people that have mastered the language at ages older than that, in much shorter times. I think this happens when there are big communities and the people do not have to attempt to assimilate and can just speak their language in their own community.

This law definitely makes sense, as can be seen with those previous laws. Ya it can cause problems if it is enforced inappropriately, but their is always an appeals process. If the officer was truly pissed or racist, I'm sure he could find another ticket to give anyway. But this law definitely makes sense, and sometimes it's not about being fair and pleasing everyone, but about being safe. It's definitely not unreasonable...