A Somali truck driver who was speeding down a Missouri highway in an 80-ton rig — going against traffic — failed an English proficiency test administered by state troopers after being pulled over for reckless driving.
Sgt. Dallas Thompson of Missouri State Highway Patrol told Fox 2 Now the Somali national could not read or understand basic road signs required to hold a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).
“The trooper … saw the truck in question and conducted a traffic stop on him,” Thompson said. “The driver was unable to complete the English proficiency test.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the incident “disturbing” and “dangerous.”
🚨🚨 DISTURBING: We have learned that a truck driver with a Minnesota CDL who couldn’t read basic road signs spent MILES driving the wrong way in an 80 TON truck!
Thanks to Missouri law enforcement, this dangerous trucker is now out of service. @FMCSA is also investigating the… https://t.co/uaghZPwnUS
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 26, 2026
Thompson said Missouri requires commercial truck drivers to pass an English-language proficiency exam.
This makes sense: Anyone who drives should be able to understand basic road signs so they don’t kill people.
“In Missouri, they have to be able to understand English, take the test in English, and pass the road sign test here,” the trooper told Fox 2 Now.
However, it turns out the Somali national in this incident was licensed in Democrat-controlled Minnesota. He works for Cargo Transportation LLC, which is based in Hopkins, Minnesota.
Cargo Transportation is now under investigation by the Department of Transportation, which has been cracking down on truck drivers who can’t read basic road signs.
In January, the DOT said it has removed more than 11,500 truck drivers who failed English proficiency exams, and shut down 7,500 CDL training schools that did not meet the Trump administration’s readiness standards.
As a reminder, Trump signed an executive order in April 2025, mandating the enforcement of an existing — but heretofore unenforced — federal law requiring truck drivers to be proficient in English.
The order reversed a 2016 memorandum by the Obama administration, which abolished the language-proficiency requirement.
This driver has been in the U.S. for TEN YEARS and does not know enough English to qualify for a trucking license.
This is exactly why @SecDuffy ordered @FMCSA to crack down on English proficiency standards.
Do you want to drive on American roads? Being able to understand… https://t.co/YJvxNGbrzh
— USDOT Rapid Response (@USDOTRapid) October 14, 2025
It’s absurd that an existing law requiring truckers to be able to read traffic signs in basic English has been ignored, despite the horrific ramifications this has.
Anyone could be the next victim of a horrific, preventable crash involving an 80,000-pound truck. It doesn’t matter whether you live.
Meet Harjinder Singh
-Entered USA Illegally
-Claimed his life was under threat in India to avoid deportation
-Instagram Profile shows he is a Khalistani
-Can’t speak English or read road signs
-Kills 3 people while attempting an illegal u-Turn
-Trump Admin bans work Visas for… pic.twitter.com/uHHMeqv4d8— Sensei Kraken Zero (@YearOfTheKraken) August 25, 2025
Despite what race-hustling Democrats claim, requiring truck drivers to be able to read road signs is not “racist.”
It is an urgent public-safety issue that’s a matter of life and death.
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