Critics say law will disproportionately affect immigrant communities and those who speak limited English
As of 6 February, people in Florida are no longer be able to take driver’s license examinations in any language other than English, the Florida department of highway safety and motor vehicles (DMV) said in a statement.
Before the change, exams for noncommercial driver’s licenses were offered in multiple languages, including Spanish, Haitian Creole and Portuguese, while the commercial learner’s permit and commercial driver’s license knowledge exams were both offered in English and Spanish. Now all driver’s license knowledge and skills testing will be conducted in English.
“Florida’s decision to administer driver’s license services only in English is a harmful and unnecessary barrier that will disproportionately impact immigrant communities and other Floridians with limited English proficiency,” Keisha Mulfort, deputy director of communications for the ACLU of Florida, said in a statement. “Access to a driver’s license is not a luxury; it is essential for everyday life, including getting to work, taking children to school, attending medical appointments and safely meeting basic family needs.”
If a Yank goes to Panama and wants to rent a car should they need to show proficiency in Español?
They tried this shit in Oklahoma years ago and it got overturned by the courts.
This just results in more unlicensed drivers. And that results in more uninsured drivers. Nice self-own.
Florida is a no-fault state. Good luck even if they are insured.
… who will be pulled over for Minor Violations Driving While Brown, and summarily deported
Access to a driver’s license is not a luxury; it is essential for everyday life, including getting to work, taking children to school, attending medical appointments and safely meeting basic family needs.
This is an argument for public transit, not cars.
If we’re talking about the way it should be maybe.
But the reality is that in many/most places in the US you need a car, period. Or you’ll be reliant on someone who does.
And most of Florida, even the major cities, are extremely car dependent and sprawling. It’ll take decades to fix when they finally decide they need to.
I wonder how the Latinos for Trump feel about this. I know the Latinas for Mangione would be against it.
Usha, could you please explain to your husband how the world’s largest democracy handles multiple languages? While you’re at it, be sure to mention how many languages are officially supported
And then logistics companies will complain that they have no drivers and then blame Obama or some shit.
pretty sure Florida needs more unregulated drivers
How well would any English first people do when going to Germany and try to drive and navigate. I can see the point as our road signage is 99% English. But allowing the non road signage questions in other languages should be allowed like questions about turn signal use etc.
I’ve done fine driving all across the world often speaking none of the local lingo.
In most of the world they rely far less on written language in their road signage, for exactly this reason. It’s just North America that does it different really.
I drove in Austria and Germany for work a few times. After a day or two, you pick up enough words on signs to understand “Entrance” and “Exit” and “One way”, but between the symbols and the English on everything, it is probably much easier for us to drive there than for a non-English speaker to drive here. I bet most immigrants learn “No turn on red” faster than “No Parking Enforced on Alternating Wednesdays and Saturdays except on Holidays from 6:00 PM to 12:45 AM”.
In any case, speaking English is not required of citizens. Tests were offered in Spanish because of a need for it. It’s not that they cannot learn to read a few signs, it’s that the written portion of the test needs to be clearly communicated. The ADA requires that illiterate adults be provided with an audio test or interpreter, because it’s more important for people to understand the test than it is for the government to bully immigrants to score political points with bigots.
