New U.S. English Study Finds 45 States Offer Foreign Language Driver’s License Exams

Leading indicator of state government multilingualism has increased since 2004

The divisive and dangerous trend of multilingual driver’s license exams continues according to new research recently completed by U.S. English, Inc. At the end of 2005, 45 states were offering driver’s license exams in languages other than English; with some states presenting more than 20, even 30, language options. The complete results of the study, conducted over the last three months, can be found on the U.S. English, Inc. website here.

“The number of languages in which states offer driver’s license exams is a barometer of multilingual government at the state level,” explained Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. English, Inc. “As the department which almost everybody will interact with, the DMV should be setting the standard for English learning and assimilation. Unfortunately, we see the trend moving in the opposite direction, as our government agencies adapt to immigrants, rather than encouraging immigrants to adapt to America.”

According to the information gathered from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or similar driver’s licensing divisions in each of the 50 states, only five states - Maine, New Hampshire, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming – require that drivers take their licensing exam in English. Of the remaining 45 states, 31 states offer the test in three or more languages. California is the clear leader, with an exam offered in 32 languages, including the nation’s only exams in Amharic, Thai, and Tongan. Four additional states – Massachusetts, New York, Kentucky and Michigan – feature exams in 20 or more languages, while six more have tests in at least 10 languages.

Since U.S. English last conducted the study in the summer of 2004, seven states have increased the number of languages in which their driver’s license exam is offered. This wasteful, dangerous policy has grown to the point where 36 exams are now being offered in languages spoken by fewer than 2,000 state residents according to Census 2000. Among the most egregious examples is the state of Kentucky, which offers its test in 20 languages, including Romanian (spoken at home by 155 residents, or 0.004 percent of the state’s population over the age of 5), Turkish (220 speakers), and Cambodian (305 speakers). In a similar vein, North Dakota offers its exam in five languages spoken by fewer than 1,000 people statewide.

“Every increase in the number of languages offered is an increase in the number of people on our highways who cannot understand police directions or moveable signs,” continued Mujica. “Even more dangerous is that these immigrants are not being encouraged to acquire the tools that will allow them to become fully functional in the United States. They may be able to get a license, but they will still be far off the road to becoming a part of their new country.

“Multilingual driver’s license exams are bad public policy that offer no segue to upward mobility. I call upon our legislators adopt measures that would require any driver’s license obtained through a foreign language test to be renewed only if the motorist passes the exam in English. This sensible strategy will allow newcomers to drive to work, to make our roads safer and most important, to lead immigrants on the crucial path toward English learning.”

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.