There is a federal law that states drivers of commercial vehicles must be able to converse in English. However, in Dallas, Texas, a few officers have decided to apply this law to drivers of private vehicles.
The federal law, 49 CFR 391.11, states that a driver
Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records
For some reason, some Dallas police officers have decided to apply this regulation to private drivers in a county where nearly 39% of the population is of Latino/Hispanic ancestry. (Whites top out at 35% in Dallas). In a three-year period, six officers have incorrectly 40 citations for being “a non-English speaking driver”.
A Dallas Police spokesman said,
We regret this happening, and although we believe this is a sincere mistake, there’s no excuse for it.