Speak English - Safety

"Aviation English" as a standard has probably avoided dozens of accidents and saved thousands of lives. Maybe it'll help trucking, too. (I don't know for sure, I'm not an expert in transportation safety.) But, if it is a good idea, it should come with some supports -- "crash courses" for Hispanophone drivers, ramp-up period, etc. -- that are likely to be really cheap relative to a supply-chain disruption.

More broadly, the fact is that the ratio of Non-Hispanic-White to Hispanic-White in the US is now about the same as French-White-Canadian to Non-French-White-Canadian and still trending up. We're a bi-Euro-derived-cultural country now; horse has left the barn! This brings lots of benefits and opportunities, but also some challenges. Language issues like transportation safety are among the challenges... I don't know that "Big Rig English" is the solution, but if it is, this seems like a needlessly disruptive way to get there.

 

The really funny thing is my niece Carla has been married to the guy and living in England for about 20 years. When they come back to the states visiting she has picked up a bit of the British accent. I think she does it on purpose, I'm sure she has changed the way she talks because they have just as tough a time understanding her as we do them.