Spanish speakers learn strategies to pass English-only driving test in Florida

News Spanish speakers learn strategies to pass English-only driving test in Florida April 20, 20265:00 AM ET By  David Ovalle Johannes González, an instructor at Speedway Driving School in Hialeah, Florida, teaches Spanish-speaking students to memorize key words in order to pass the state's new English-only driving exam. David Ovalle/NPR hide caption toggle caption David Ovalle/NPR HIALEAH, FLORIDA - Construction worker Alex López, a native of Guatemala, gets by on job sites with broken English. He knows the tools and how to follow instructions from his boss. "My inglés no es muy malo," said López, 41. My English isn't too bad. But López hasn't mastered enough of the language to earn the right to legally drive in Florida. He recently bombed a 50-question multiple choice driver's exam administered in English. "After they gave me instructions and taught me how to use the computer program, I froze," López said in Spanish as he studied at Speedway Driving School in Hialeah. "I felt sick." Sponsor Message National The DOT says it wants to make trucking safer, but some see an 'immigration raid' Florida long allowed drivers like López to take written tests in Spanish. Now in line with President Trump's hardline stance on immigration, Republican-led Florida in February began requiring written and oral tests for new drivers only in English, without translator assistance. López's struggle illustrates new barriers facing aspiring drivers under the rule change, particularly in heavily Hispanic cities such as Miami and Orlando. The measure makes Florida one of only a handful of states to require English-only driving tests – and by far the largest and most diverse. Roughly one in three Floridians speak a foreign-language at home, according to U.S. Census data. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles instituted the rule less than a year after a commercial truck driver making an illegal U-turn killed three people on the Florida Turnpike. Gov. Ron DeSantis (...