SALT LAKE CITY — Abdirizak Ibrahim remembers how challenging it was to get a driver's license when he first arrived in Utah in 1998.
"Taking the test? Very difficult. Even I myself when I started taking the test, it was difficult for me," said Ibrahim, who now is the executive director of the Somali Community Self Management Agency, which helps members of Utah's Somali community.
Ibrahim said they teach "survival ESL class" for people whom English is a second language so they can learn how to interact with grocery clerks, police or open a bank account. When it came to the driver license exam, many had to endure a test printed in English-only.
"They know how to drive. They just have to be part of the American system," said Earl Al Kalashnikov, the director of the SLC Area Anti-Discrimination Task Force.
Until this year, driver license exams were mostly in English-only. Now, thanks to a bill the legislature passed unanimously and Governor Spencer Cox signed into law, it will expand to a number of other languages in an effort to help refugees and immigrants. It does not apply to driver privilege cards, which are separate from a state-issued license.
Kalashnikov said the driver license is tied to so many things and being able to have that ability to drive will improve lives by letting people get to work or classes.
"It’s going to help in numerous capacities such as being able to help them get better education, so they can help increase their incomes," he said Friday.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Utah State Legislature repealed a law that required government documents be printed in only English. Lawmakers found problems in reaching communities being hit hard by the virus with essential health information, because pamphlets and other documents could not be printed in multiple languages.
"That was an important step, very important that we recognized it was a barrier," said Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion, D-Cottonwood Heights.
This year, she sponsored the bill to allow refugees and immigrants to take exams in languages other than English. If the exam isn't printed in their language, a person taking the test can bring along an interpreter from an approved list at their own cost.
"Anyone who’s here legally, we want to help them move forward and become self-sufficient and not have this become a barrier," Rep. Bennion told FOX 13 News.
Utah's Driver License Division has already been expanding languages for Real ID licenses. Exams and guides are printed in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tongan and Portuguese.
"The DLD is actively working to expand its language services, with plans to add five new languages every year, using AI translation services provided by Amazon," Utah's Department of Public Safety, which oversees the driver license division, said in a statement to FOX 13 News. "Residents who require a language that is not currently available can bring their own translator from an approved list at their own cost. The DLD's goal is to further expand understanding of driving laws to ensure public safety for all."
Ibrahim said the new law should help refugees, who already face a number of challenges.
"They want to be self sufficient, to be independent so they can drive, they can work, they can go shopping," he said.
