Georgia Senate Votes to Require Driver
Measure would require most written license exams to be taken in English
March 11, 2009
By a margin of 37-14, the Georgia Senate voted on Tuesday to require nearly all candidates for a driver’s license to take their written test in English. The vote on bill S. 67 sends the measure to the House for consideration.
Introduced by Sen. Jack Murphy, S. 67 would require examinations for all non-temporary driver’s licenses in Georgia to be conducted in English. In the interest of increasing road safety and English proficiency the measure would eliminate most use of translators and driver’s license exams in languages other than English. The bill contains exceptions for temporary licenses, as well as for the illiterate, who would be allowed to have the questions read to them.
“This bill is a winning effort for law enforcement officers, construction workers, and the motorists of Georgia,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. English, Inc. “State agencies should not be waving the checkered flag to permit those who don’t understand English to operate a motor-vehicle. Federal law does not permit non-English speakers to operate heavy machinery for a valid reason – it creates a danger to others. Georgia should require prospective drivers to take licensing examinations in English for the same reason.”
Georgia currently offers prospective drivers the opportunity to take their exam in 14 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Laotian, Polish and Spanish. According to the Georgia Department of Driver Services, roughly 5,000 people take driver’s license examinations in languages other than English every month.
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. () now has more than 2 million members.
