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This is just a driver license exams. It isn't for college or any work place, it's pretty silly to put such limitations on people. I don't think it is fair that as long as you can't speak English, you couldn't drive. Driving has nothing to do with the ability to speak any language at all. It's totally unrelated, and it's best to take such a test in your native tongue, rather than in a language you aren't very good in.

I think that's just silly.

Well, he wasn't referring to the signs as much as he was referring to the written portion of the driver's exam (and even in the case that he was, we see how intelligent he proves to be). Driving a car and looking at the signs doesn't require any language at all, but the theory has to be written in some language.

Personally, I think what he said was terrible, especially the way he said "This is Alabama, people who want to live here need to speak English." Not just drive, but live. >.< I live in Alabama, so I'm sort of used to these corrupt politicians. What he said was really uncalled for.

Obviously, they know their priorities. :/
It always bothers me when politicians take such stupid worthless causes.

I agree, it is the right thing to do. Personally I wouldn't move to a country I wasn't familiar with its language and culture, unless I had no other choice.
I think the people this is addressed towards aren't people who have the means and ability to study English where they came from, so I guess it isn't an option to them.

Far away from Alabama, for good reason rofl

I'm actually somewhat torn on this. I do think that the US should have an official language that everyone is expected to learn. I honestly don't care what that language is - whether it's Latin, Plains Indian Sign Language, Ainu, or Xhosha - but we need to have a language in common. I live in an area that's definitely linguistically diverse, and as much as I love the diversity, the inability to communicate with people can create problems.

I'm not saying people should lose their cultures and languages when they come here. My family lost two languages (one of which is endangered) and people even had to change their names because the guys at Ellis Island and in the schools couldn't or wouldn't spell foreign names.

So, the question is why someone should need to speak English (or whatever language is declared official) in order to drive. Most signs are symbols - that's true, but not all are. Where I live, there are large signs on the freeway that are changeable - sometimes they're blank, but sometimes they have important information about road conditions, emergencies or traffic and that information is conveyed via text, in English. There are frequently other signs that are text-based (no turn on red, carpool is 3 or more persons (instead of two), begin/end construction zone, etc), whose meaning cannot be divined simply by looking at the shape. I was recently in an area where many of the street signs were in Chinese (in Stockton, CA); I've been driving for a while, but I found it very disconcerting, even distracting - I had no idea where I was going or what the signs might mean.

In case someone is pulled over - whether it's for a traffic violation or because someone's got a flat they haven't noticed - they need to be able to communicate with the police officer. It's totally reasonable to expect the police to learn a second language, but what about areas where there's a third or fourth language that's widely used in the area (not so far fetched - it's the case where I live)? How many languages can we expect the police to learn in order to be able to accommodate everyone? According to the last census, there are sizable minorities who use Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean as the primary language, and this is out in the suburbs - how many might it be in a major city?

If someone's in a car accident, they need to be able to communicate to exchange information. Having a language in common would certainly make that process simpler.