Much like this country’s imagined flag burning epidemic, there appears to be an inordinate amount of traffic accidents caused by non-english speakers.

Tennessee’s xenophobic legislators are at it again as support swells in both parties to require English-only driver’s exams.

Republicans in the Senate and some Dems in the House argue that it’s about driver safety. That’s a beautiful red-herring but this particular piece or legislation is about fear, isolationism and politics. Non-English speakers, or a persons with limited knowledge of the English language, navigate the streets the same way that you and I do if we’re traveling in France, Spain, Germany or Italy. We use the universal signs that make it kindergarten-easy: “green” means go, “red” means stop, “yellow” means caution. These are also signs that pedestrians need to know, so what’s next? Require an English-only exam for non-English speakers to walk our streets?

If the issue really is safety, then the solution is obvious and easy. Let’s keep providing multi-language instructions for taking the test but add questions that assess a drivers knowledge of traffic signs/signals. This will demonstrate, to those in doubt, that a driver has enough of a command of the English language to navigate the streets and highways safely.

This post was written by Mary Mancini