Five individuals were killed and dozens injured in a bus crash in Virginia yesterday, as a commercial bus failed to slow down near a work zone on Interstate 95. The immediate response from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy focused on the bus driver's reported inability to speak English, deflecting from the systemic pressures inherent in a commercial transport industry driven by surplus extraction.
The E&P Travel bus, traveling from New York to North Carolina, crashed around 2:35 a.m. Friday in Stafford County. The collision involved the bus slamming into several cars, resulting in fatalities and widespread injuries.
Among the dead were a 13-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy, a 45-year-old man, and a 44-year-old woman, all from Massachusetts, whose car caught fire. A 25-year-old woman, who was in the car directly in front of the bus, also perished. At least 44 others were hospitalized, with three reported in critical condition.
The State's Narrative
The driver, Jing S. Dong, 48, of Staten Island, New York, was injured in the crash. Dong is a naturalized citizen originally from China who received his commercial driver’s license in New York two years ago. Police have stated that charges are pending.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy quickly issued a statement on X, declaring the driver's reported inability to speak English “unacceptable.” Duffy wrote, “Unacceptable. This is exactly why we are holding states’ accountable, enforcing the rules of the road, and cracking down on drivers who can’t speak English.” He added, “If you can’t be properly trained, read our road signs, or communicate with law enforcement, you have no business driving a bus.”
This framing by a high-ranking state official immediately shifts the focus to an individual worker's perceived failing, rather than examining the broader conditions of wage suppression or the profit motives of companies like E&P Travel. Federal law already mandates that commercial drivers speak English sufficiently for safe operation.
Managing the System
Four months ago, in February, Secretary Duffy announced a new federal policy requiring all truckers and bus drivers to take their licensing test in English. This policy, while presented as a safety measure, further tightens control over the labor pool, particularly immigrant workers, contributing to wage suppression and precarity within the commercial transportation sector.
Duffy stated that the Transportation Department is investigating “New York licensing records, training documentation, and the driver's history.” He threatened “intense scrutiny” for “Any company, trainer, or school that contributed to putting an unqualified driver on the road.” This state action aims to reinforce existing regulations and assign blame within the current framework, preserving the structure of the commercial transport industry, which prioritizes capital accumulation.
The focus on individual driver qualifications and language ability serves to obscure the broader context of a transportation system driven by capital accumulation, where cost-cutting pressures can impact training, working conditions, and ultimately, safety for both workers and the public. The state's intervention, through enforcement and new regulations, manages the system's contradictions without addressing its foundational reliance on profit over human well-being.