Column By Mike Bibb
When I learned that the commercial truck driver from India involved in the recent horrific accident in Florida was not very proficient in the English language and could only comprehend a few road signs, I thought to myself, “How is this possible? How could he obtain a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) if he could not read and understand the Motor Vehicle Department’s CDL written test?”
Then, I also discovered he was granted his CDL in California. Nothing more needs to be said to explain the total irrationality of the situation.
In a state flooded with undocumented immigrants from all over the world, finding one who can’t read English or know what various highway signs mean probably isn’t difficult to do.
However, it takes a particularly super-brain-sprained department of government to approve and issue a commercial driving license to a guy who has no idea what traffic laws are or what road signs indicate. In fact, he can’t even read them to find out.
“Hey, Bill, let’s give this dude a license to drive a 40-ton 18-wheeler. He needs a job, and ‘Honest Frank’s Lightly Used Kitchen Appliances and TVs’ needs his load delivered to Florida by next Tuesday.”
What could go wrong?
How about the English-deficient truck driver decides to make a U-turn right in the middle of the highway, and a following car slams into the trailer, instantly killing three motorists.
And the befuddled truck driver pulls this stunt right next to a highway sign designating “No U-turns.”
Adding a little more confusion to the story, after the truck driver left California heading to Florida, he was pulled over by a New Mexico State Trooper and issued a speeding ticket, then allowed to proceed.
Apparently, the driver couldn’t read highway speed limit signs or ignored them.
Regrettably, I realize California’s almost incomprehensible logic in allowing this sort of stuff to go on within a state agency entrusted with issuing driver’s licenses and highway use permits is just another cluster of errors in everyday California. Maybe some of these government offices also employ folks who can’t read and write English.
After all, this is the same state that couldn’t supply water in its fire hydrants to put out fires in the Los Angeles area. So, why should we expect them to be any smarter in handing out CDLs to people who are incapable of reading and understanding English?
Joe Biden’s ridiculous COVID and Open Borders policies adversely impacted society to such a point that ordinary citizens driving our streets and highways are endangered by foreign-born immigrants who have been given jobs they are unqualified to perform.
Just because someone thinks they’re a truck driver does not necessarily make it so, any more than a professed welder says he can electrically wire a house.
Maybe he can, and maybe he can’t.
But if he’s not capable of reading the qualifying tests of these particular trades, then it’s doubtful he can actually perform the tasks.
When driving I-10 to Tucson, a person will notice an abundance of trucks, many being piloted by drivers wearing turban-type headdresses. Ordinarily, I’d suspect these drivers are not originally from Willcox, Arizona, or Oklahoma City.
Perhaps, somewhere closer to Mumbai, India.
The overwhelming presence of these workers is extensive. In fact, they’ve established their own restaurants and truck stops, serving “genuine” Indian food.
Which is fine. If there’s a market for this service, then someone will provide it.
That’s not my argument. I’m simply questioning the knowledge and skills of individuals who help move goods and services within our country. And the intelligence level of the government offices handing out the driver’s licenses.
The likelihood of cars and trucks bumping and crashing into each other is already a distinct possibility as accident statistics and insurance rates will verify.
It’s going to happen sometime, somewhere to someone.
However, why allow the chances to significantly increase by permitting people who can’t functionally read and understand the English language to operate commercial equipment on our highways — going 75 mph, or faster?
Incidentally, I know a little bit about this topic. I drove delivery vans and 18-wheelers for UPS for 25 years. My driver’s license and CDL tests, plus various endorsements, were taken and issued in English.
I don’t recall any other choice. Of course, in today’s woke-infested government bureaucracies, anything is possible.
Including issuing Commercial Driver’s Licenses to people who can’t read and understand English, or the road signs they pass along the way.
The bottom line of this sad story is that the lives of three Florida residents were cut short by an incompetent, non-English comprehending truck driver, who was given a CDL driver’s license in California, was enroute 3,000 miles to Florida, stopped for speeding by a New Mexico State Police officer then allowed to continue, traveling through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama before entering Florida and then, for some reason, thought he could turn his nearly 80′ long truck around in the middle of the highway — next to a “No U-turn” sign. A second later, three innocent people were fatally mangled as their car smashed into the side of the trailer.
What are the odds of such a previously non-related series of events coming together at that exact moment, the truck and car were on the same section of roadway within a few feet of each other?
Topping it off, the driver of the truck was from a completely different country, halfway around the world.
It’s mind-boggling, and someone, besides the truck driver, should go to jail for a long time.
All of which lends undeniable credibility to the universally accepted conclusion that no matter how hard the government tries, or how much money it throws at a problem, or how many Einsteins it employs to resolve an issue, it still “Can’t fix stupid”!
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author.
