Odessa

From the AP

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Manuel Castillo was driving a truck through Alabama hauling onions and left with a $500 ticket for something he didn't think he was doing: speaking English poorly.
. . .
Castillo, who was stopped on his way back to California, said he knows federal law requires him to be able to converse in English with an officer but he thought his language skills were good enough to avoid a ticket.
. . .
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.
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Castillo, who says he speaks English at roughly a third-grade level, said he understood when the trooper asked him where he was heading and to see his commercial driver's license and registration. He said he responded in English, though he speaks with an accent.

Castillo wasn't speeding, and the inspection and computer check turned up no offenses, so he was surprised to get a ticket for being a "non-English speaking driver."

I agree that English should be our primary language and that it is a good idea that truck drivers be minimally proficient. However, there are plenty of folks from certain states that it is hard to tell if what is coming out of their mouths is English. Hmmm, I think Alabama is one of those states, . . . and I wonder if the trooper passing judgment on Mr. Castillo is one of those folks with such a heavy drawl that us "Yanks" would wonder if he spoke English. Just a thought.

What is my point? Someone's grasp and proficiency of English can be highly subjective. I may have talked to Mr. Castillo and understood him perfectly. He has been doing the job for 20yrs, so one would presume a great many people have been able to communicate with him and probably in English. However, a man that the state of Alabama gave a badge to obviously felt differently.