Adios, multilingual driver’s license tests.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will no longer offer exams in any language other than English starting on Feb. 6, officials announced Friday.
The state will no longer provide translation services or printed exams in any language other than English, according to the state’s announcement. The new policy applies to all driver license classifications, including oral exams.
“Previously, knowledge exams for most non-commercial driver license classifications were offered in multiple languages, while Commercial Learner’s Permit and Commercial Driver License knowledge exams were only available in English and Spanish,” the agency said in a news release. “Under the updated policy, all driver license knowledge and skills testing will be conducted in English.”
Street signs are all in English, but they also are often color-coded so a driver would not necessarily need to read a sign to know what it means. Speed limit, stop, yield and railroad crossing signs have distinct colors and shapes. But some road signs require an ability to read.
Juan Pagan, president of the Florida Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce, had mixed feelings about the new rule. He recognized the need for drivers to know the language in the country where they’ve been entrusted with the operation of vehicles, while he also thought the rule reflects an “adversarial approach to assimilation” for foreigners in general and immigrants in particular.
“It’s a way of saying ‘you don’t belong here,’” Pagan said.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.