New information surfaced about 28-year-old Harjinder Singh, an Indian-origin truck driver, who caused a crash in Florida, killing three people, because he took a wrong U-turn earlier this year. Many details emerged about the illegal migrant from India and how he got his commercial driving license despite struggling to speak english, but now it has been revealed that he failed his commercial driver’s license test 10 times over two months before finally receiving a license in 2023 in Washington state. Investigators with the Florida AG’s office learned Singh failed his CDL knowledge exam in Washington state 10 times between March 10, 2023, and May 5, 2023. They also learned he failed his air brakes knowledge exam twice.The company that trained Singh for his CDL claimed that he could speak English though on several occasions later it has been found out that he struggled with English. Harjinder Singh pleaded not guilty during his first hearing.
Harjinder Singh, ‘no name’, then Jaspreet Singh: Indian truck drivers earning a bad name in US
Several incidents of Indian-origin truck drivers grappling with US traffic rules and causing accidents have now come to the fore. The leniency of the authorities concerned in issuing the license has also drawn scrutiny. For example, New York state issued a CDL to an Indian named Anmol, whose license had ‘No Name Given‘ written on it. ICE officers came across Anmol during a routine inspection and he was arrestd as ICE determined that he was staying in the US illegally. The most recent case is that of 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh, who caused a multi-vehicle crash on a California freeway when he was driving under the influence.
Why Punjabi drivers falter at US driving test
The CDL written exam is in English, and language barrier is one of the main reasons for Indian-origin drivers failing at driving test. Technical vocabulary like “air brake leakage rate”, “coupling system,” “pre-trip inspection terms” can be confusing if English isn’t strong. The pre-trip portion requires drivers to verbally describe every truck part and safety function — often in English — and this section alone fails many applicants.
