Rep. Michelle Teska urges legislative action to require English proficiency rules amid public safety concerns
State Rep. Michelle Teska, R-Clearcreek Twp., is pushing for legislative action before the year’s end to require Ohio drivers to demonstrate English proficiency, citing public-safety concerns that surfaced in Warren County amid encounters with commercial drivers from Uzbekistan.
In a release, the Clearcreek Township Republican said the issue is not about nationality, but a matter of public safety.
“This is about public safety,” Teska said. “It doesn’t matter where you were born. If you are driving on Ohio roads, you need to understand our laws, read our road signs, and safely operate your vehicle.”
Her comments come days after a New York Post report exposed how thousands of migrants from Uzbekistan have established a presence in Maineville, a small village near Vice President JD Vance’s hometown, while operating violation-riddled commercial trucking companies.
The report linked the network to safety violations, chameleon companies that re-register to evade enforcement, and the July 5 death of 21-year-old Tobias “Toby” Forsythe on Interstate 71.
Tobias "Toby" Forsythe was just 21, a star goalie for the UMass Lowell soccer team with his whole life ahead of him. On Sunday, his life was stolen.
A massive semi-truck driven by Bekhzod Asrarov rammed the back of Toby’s car on I-71 in Madison County, Ohio, killing him… pic.twitter.com/diNqfujrRc
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) July 7, 2026
It also described drivers organizing trips to a New York DMV for commercial licenses to evade Ohio law, while advising one another on how to avoid Ohio’s English-proficiency checkpoints.
Teska, who said that she’s spent months meeting with Warren County officials, state agencies, law enforcement, and prosecutors, said it’s now time to act.
“We have spent months identifying the problems and developing solutions,” Teska said. “Now it’s time to act. I am working with my colleagues to get meaningful reforms across the finish line before the end of this General Assembly and make Ohio’s roads safer.”
After participating in a ride-along with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, Teska convened a policy meeting in August that included the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Motor Carrier Enforcement, the Department of Public Safety, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and fellow legislators to identify gaps in licensing and enforcement.
Concerns raised during the meeting also led to a follow-up with prosecutors about Ohio’s criminal-record “masking” process and its impact on information available to law enforcement.
That work has since produced draft amendments to strengthen licensing requirements, including language connected to House Bill 753, sponsored by Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland.
Those draft amendments would require the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to administer all driver examinations in English and generally prohibit translators or interpreters except where required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Ohio currently offers the written knowledge test in multiple languages, though the skills test requires a basic understanding of English directions and signs.
The effort aligns with broader state and federal steps to address non-domiciled commercial licenses, safety gaps in the trucking industry, and policies that permit companies to mask serious safety violations.
