Job Discussion Forums

[laconic]

Here it is:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,385145,00.html

[Ai]

That's so sad.

[johnslat]

If Alabama is ticketing drivers for being "non-English speakers", can Mississippi be far behind?
I'd love to give that state trooper an English test.
This is absolutely ridiculous and downright demeaning. Is there any way we can get Alabama to secede again?

[Nozka]

Oh Alabama
The devil fools
with the best laid plan.
Swing low Alabama
You got spare change
You got to feel strange
And now the moment
is all that it meant.

Alabama, you got
the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back.
Your Cadillac
has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track

Oh Alabama
Banjos playing
through the broken glass
Windows down in Alabama.
See the old folks
tied in white ropes
Hear the banjo.
Don't it take you down home?

Alabama, you got
the weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back.
Your Cadillac
has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track

Oh Alabama.
Can I see you
and shake your hand.
Make friends down in Alabama.
I'm from a new land
I come to you
and see all this ruin
What are you doing Alabama?
You got the rest of the union
to help you along
What's going wrong?

-Neil Young

[willraber]

Although I do agree that Alabama can be a pitiful place to live and work, I respectfully remind readers that in order to do business in Germany one must be able to speak the language.

[rusmeister]

That sort of law could be abused by police fairly easily. And if you ask me, the fine ought to be on the business owner, not the truck driver (unless they are one and the same).

But...

One thing that teachers who drive abroad know, is that it can be very convenient to "not be able to speak the local language" when the police stop you, especially if you were doing something wrong.

What if I were a business owner that wanted to deliver shady goods? Wouldn't it be really convenient if my drivers were not able or required to be able to communicate with police?

Just something to think about.

In general, if you live in a country, as opposed to being a tourist, you bloody well ought to learn the language. The wisdom of "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is being forgotten.

[parrothead]

So basically you are saying that you shouldn't be able to drive a car until you have comfortably learned the language? If he has his driver's license, then he was able to pass the same driving test as the rest of the populace. There are many degrees to fluency in a foreign language, whether reading, speaking or listening. Perhaps his listening skills weren't as sharp, or perhaps the police officer was an inarticulate jerk. It can take years to properly train one's ears to some American English. "Ya aint gotsta speak English, but you gotsta speak English if youse gonna be drivin in Alabama."

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[rusmeister]

Hey, I agree with that particular sentiment - I am not for police abuse at all, esp having been abused myself. I am just trying to point out a practical concern of which maybe that law is a poor response. Give me a good response to the concern! (Did you understand the concern?)

[Justin Trullinger]

I certainly understand the concern. Another part of the concern, for me, is that a driver who doesn't speak the local language is particularly vulnerable to abuse of power on behalf of the police. (I've been involved in mitigating this for foreign drivers in Ecuador on a few occasions, and it stinks.) If you're going to be driving in a country, learn the heck out of the local language is the advice I would give, and do follow.

But what is the criteria for a comercial driver in Alabama? Is there some sort of a test? A rule of thumb? was the conversation recorded? Is there any criteria attached to the law at all?

Because the way it sounds, the police, in this case, can discretionarily decide that a commercial driver "don't speak Anglish too good" and give them a rather hefty fine. (Which I agree, rusmeister, should go to the owner.) I don't see much justice in this.

Tightening the language requirements to obtain a commercial driver's license would make sense to me as a way to combat the problems of non-English speaking drivers. This is complicated though, as licensing and driving laws are predominantly determined at the state level in the US, and cargo-truck transport is mostly inter-state. Perhaps a federal law mandating (and testing at point of licensing) interstate truck drivers to pass an English test?

Or perhaps the Alabama highway patrol, if they're the ones most worried about it, should have a roadside English test? Something accountable, recorded, something they have to answer for, and that will hold up in court. I'm sure the highway patrol are profesionals in their field, but they aren't profesionals in language evaluation, and this shouldn't be left to their judgement.

But I know this- if they want to prosecute for drunk driving, they have to have proof, usually in the form of a breathalyzer test. Likewise, they should need something concrete to ticket "lack of English."


Best,
Justin

[Marcoregano]

I agree with parrothead. Maybe the drivers English is OK, but can he speak Alabamee?

[rusmeister]

[Prof.Gringo]

Read the article: "Federal law requires that anyone with a commercial drivers license 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."

That is mandated by the federal DOT, not the state of Alabama or another state.

That being said I think that there's a good chance that Alabama cop was out "fishing" to write tickets. Many cops get a bonus for writing, say 10 tickets per day.

The problem here is that the officer is able to use his/her own judgment as to what constitutes being able to converse in English. That's very subjective.

This guy (the driver) lives in California and he was able to take the written part of the CDL exam in Spanish. So, his English skills can't be that good.

Anyways, American truckers are afraid of Mexican trucks coming into the US and taking "their" jobs, so don't expect any trucker associations to jump to the defense of this driver.

Do you really want some guy that can't speak English well enough to work fast-food out there driving an 80,000 pound (40 ton) truck?

BTW I have a class A CDL myself.

[Prof.Gringo]

Or we can do what Mexico does: In Mexico City and Mexico State now all you have to do to get a Mexican drivers license is to show an ID like a passport, proof of being legally in the country (I believe that a tourist card/visa is not enough, it must be a residency visa of some-type) and proof of address. No written test, no vision test, no driving test. When I went to get my permanent license, the lady did ask me to read a few sentences in Spanish and she asked me if I could read the road signs in Spanish (never mind that they use mostly pictures anyways, if there are road signs at all in Mexico!) and of course I said yes.

I am not sure, but I believe its a lot harder to get a commercial license in Mexico. I should check and see just for fun if I can also get one here.

[SueH]

Some pretty blinkered attitudes about the need to speak English. All over Europe TIR articulated lorries criss-cross from Turkey, Romania, Germany, France, the UK etc etc. Just tonight doing my training runs alongside the motorway that runs through my mountain valley I saw Italian, French, Belgian, UK and one of the various Eastern European nations that I didn't particularly note.

Sure there can be problems dealing with language issues (hmm, reminds me I havn't contacted the local traffic or border police to run a course;-) ), but as some have pointed out, you fine for definable infractions, not an inability to speak the local language (or dialect?!).