Florida now offers English-only driving tests following fatal crash involving immigrant driver

Floridians seeking a driver’s licence were required to pass the state’s exams entirely in English for the first time in nearly two decades, after the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles implemented an English-only policy that officials said followed a fatal crash involving an illegal immigrant who failed a test 10 times before the accident.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced the policy last week. The rule went into effect Friday and was aimed at “promoting clear communication, understanding of traffic laws, and responsible driving behavior.”

Officials said the move was prompted by a deadly crash last summer involving Hardjiner Singh, an illegal immigrant who had obtained a commercial driver’s licence in California. Singh attempted an illegal U-turn with his tractor-trailer, triggering a crash that killed three people, according to New York Post citing officials.

State authorities later determined that Singh received his California licence despite failing an English proficiency test. Officials said the incident sparked backlash from public officials and renewed scrutiny of language requirements for commercial drivers.

“Good reform by (Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles) to require driver exams be conducted only in English,” Governor Ron DeSantis wrote on X last week.

“Need to be able to read the road signs!”

The policy also drew criticism from Democrats. Nikki Fried, the former state agriculture commissioner and current chair of the Florida Democratic Party, condemned the change.

“In one of the most multilingual states in the country, Florida is going to implement driver’s license exams exclusively in English,” Fried wrote Jan. 30 on X.

“This is not about safety, this is about racism.”

Authorities said Singh entered the United States illegally in 2018 and was living in California at the time of the crash. Records showed he failed the CDL knowledge exam 10 times in Washington state over a two-month period and twice failed the air brakes exam before ultimately being licensed.

Singh was arrested days after the crash in Stockton, Calif., extradited to Florida and charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty and was being held without bond in the St. Lucie County Jail.