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Arabic, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese
Written By : Robert Stacy McCain

Those are the languages in which Alabama currently gives its drivers license exams. If you think its nuts for people who can’t read English road signs — I mean, c’mon, Farsi? Thai? in Alabama? – to get drivers’ licenses, you’re not alone:

Requiring Alabama driver’s license tests in English only is a matter of public safety for the people of this state, according to Tim James, Republican candidate for Governor of Alabama.
“It makes common sense to ensure everyone with an Alabama driver’s license knows and understands traffic laws and traffic signs,” James said. “Offering driver’s tests in 12 other foreign languages may be politically correct, but it’s not in the public’s interest to license people to drive when they can’t read traffic signs. On a practical note, people who learn our language enable themselves to take better advantage of opportunities – cultural, economic and educational.”
He pointed to a 2004 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report that attributed a sharp increase in work fatalities in Alabama including a 72% increase in work-related traffic fatalities, to the fact that increasing numbers of employees and drivers could not read or understand warning signs in English.

Wow. So despite the ridicule of liberals bloggers — and even some conservatives like James Joyner — there is a factual basis for James’s “This Is Alabama. We Speak English” ad — which now has had more than 60,000 views.

Even Marc Ambinder is forced to admit the issue is at least “marginally” legitimate.

(Cross-posted at Hot Air Green Room.)

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  • Smithwick

    To be able to drive without being a risk to yourself and others you need to be able to read various signs (not all are as simple to recognize as a stop sign). To do that requires you speak english and can read. If you fail on either of those two points then you cannot drive.

    What an insane country we live in.

    The only thing that cheers me up is that compared to the rest of the western world we are completely rational.

  • StanInFtWorth

    Driving is a PRIVILEGE, not a right and not some social experiment that will get people killed.

  • blkdragon

    I would argue one small but vital point here Smith.

    You do not need to be able to SPEAK English, just READ in it to drive safely in the U.S. This is why drivers license tests need to be written and not oral.

  • tblrk2006

    You do not need to be able to SPEAK English, just READ in it to drive safely in the U.S. This is why drivers license tests need to be written and not oral.
    Posted by blkdragon
    2010-04-27 11:32:02

    Part of driving and navigating our road system depends on your ability to communicate with officals and officers of the law. It is wrong to make us work harder to accomodate you in our country where english is the spoken language.

  • Andy

    When I moved to the U.S. ten years ago (legal immigrant!) I did not even think of doing the test in my language because I did not want to appear stupid and uneducated … I was proud that I have passed the test in English which made me a member of this society even more!

  • StanInFtWorth

    When I moved to the U.S. ten years ago (legal immigrant!) I did not even think of doing the test in my language because I did not want to appear stupid and uneducated … I was proud that I have passed the test in English which made me a member of this society even more!
    Posted by Andy 2010-04-27 12:23:20

    Welcome to America, Andy. I for one am glad you are here.

  • http://www.angry.net evilned

    My wife is a Chinese Immigrant. When she came here in 2004, her English was poor. Once she got settled in she practically moved into a school that teaches English as a second language.

    About a year later she decided she wanted to learn to drive. I gave her one lesson then called the local driving school. :)

    She took all her classes in English.
    (She did have a Chinese friend help her with some of the road practice and the written stuff)

    She took her written test in English and did better then I did on mine.

    Then she took the road test, also in English. In fact she took it 4 times. :D

    My wife would make Teddy Roosevelt proud to have her in America. She has become functional in English in less then 5 years.

  • Smithwick

    You do not need to be able to SPEAK English, just READ in it to drive safely in the U.S. This is why drivers license tests need to be written and not oral.

    Posted by blkdragon

    Have to disagree with you there. A driver gets pulled over for speeding, gets in an accident, runs over a kid, etc it would behoove them to speak english. I’ve been in a number of situations where the cops will wave you down, have you roll down your window and give some generic instruction (you can’t go that way, lanes closed, that sort of thing). Speaking the language is absolutely essential.

  • fiza

    Wow, a topic that I finally agree with you on. But I still gotta wag your tails a little. Have any of you rented a car, in, for example, a European country? Did you learn the local language before you rented the car?

  • StanInFtWorth

    Have any of you rented a car, in, for example, a European country?
    Posted by fiza 2010-04-27 14:11:23

    Were you there recruiting for your illegal alien operation here in the US, Fiza?

  • http://PatriotPost.US bthewolf

    Posted by fiza
    2010-04-27 14:11:23

    Major difference between renting for a week and driving daily for weeks or even years impaired by lack of language skills.

  • Toastrider

    He’s wagging something, but it’s not our tails.

    And if fiza’s wise, he’ll back off before it gets chopped.

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