Mexican truck deal draws angry reaction (will be allowed to haul freight deeper into US)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 2/23/07 | Leslie Miller - ap

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON - The news that Mexican trucks will be allowed to haul freight deeper into the United States drew an angry reaction Friday from labor leaders, safety advocates and members of Congress.

They said Mexico has substandard trucks and low-paid drivers that will threaten national security, cost thousands of jobs and endanger motorists on the northern side of the border.

The Bush administration's plan to let 100 Mexican trucking companies carry cargo beyond the immediate border area was announced Thursday in Mexico.

"This program will make trade with Mexico easier and keep our roads safe at the same time," Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said Friday. She announced details of the plan in El Paso, Texas, at the Bridge of the Americas, which connects to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Said Teamsters President Jim Hoffa: "They are playing a game of Russian roulette on America's highways."

Access to all U.S. highways was promised by 2000 under the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement, as was access through Mexico for U.S. carriers.

That aspect of NAFTA was stalled by lawsuits and disagreements between the two countries, though Canadian and U.S. trucks travel freely across the northern border.

The Bush pilot project will let Mexican truck companies travel from Mexico throughout the United States and back. No hazardous material shipments will be permitted.

According to the Transportation Department, U.S. inspectors will inspect every truck and interview drivers to make sure they can read and speak English. They'll examine trucks and check the licenses, insurance and driving records of the Mexican drivers. Inspectors will also verify that the trucking companies are insured by U.S.-licensed firms.

The first Mexican trucks are expected to drive into the United States beyond the border area in about 60 days, the Transportation Department says.

National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman questioned how the U.S. could spare sending inspectors to Mexico when only a tiny percentage of the hundreds of thousands of U.S. truck companies are inspected every year.

"They lack the inspectors to conduct safety reviews of at-risk domestic carriers," Hersman said. "That situation only gets worse if resources are diverted to the border."

One-fourth of all U.S. trucks are taken off the road after random inspections because they're so unsafe, she said. An even higher percentage of Mexican trucks are taken off the road at Texas border crossings, she said.

Mexican carriers insist their rigs meet U.S. standards. And according to the Transportation Department, 240 government employees deal with Mexican truck issues.

Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, said inspections will be meaningless because the trucks won't be equipped with black boxes that record how long a driver has been behind the wheel.

"They have no way of telling how many hours these truck drivers have been driving before they get to the U.S., let alone when they get here," Claybrook said.

Sen. Patty Murray (news, bio, voting record), D-Wash., chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, announced a March 8 hearing to determine whether the arrangement meets safety requirements.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (news, bio, voting record), D-Ore., chair of the House Highways subcommittee, said Congress will keep a close eye on the program.

Mexico responded to the U.S. announcement by saying it will allow trucks from 100 U.S. companies to travel across the border.

Business groups have wanted the border opened to avoid middleman costs of transferring goods from Mexican to U.S. trucks.

The American Trucking Associations said it supports the program, but wants to make sure that U.S. and Mexican truck companies are held to the same standards.

"We also are waiting to see that when US carriers are allowed to travel into Mexico that the regulatory and permitting process that U.S. carriers undergo is fair and transparent," the ATA said in a statement.

[NormsRevenge]

On the Net:

Transportation Department: http://www.dot.gov

[NormsRevenge]

The U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters, center, accompanied by Mexican Secretary of Communications and Transportation Luis Tellez, second from left, watches a truck inspection in the city of Apodaca, northern Mexico, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007. U.S. safety inspectors will be allowed to examine trucks on Mexican soil before they cross the border into the United States under a program announced by Secretary Peters that could end a seven-year trade dispute in order to remove the last barrier to the long-delayed opening of U.S. highways to Mexican truckers.(AP Photo/Monica Rueda)

[showme_the_Glory]

I wonder if their stuff will get stolen as quickly in the US as my trucking equipment does down there?

[Who dat?]

Said Teamsters President Jim Hoffa: "They are playing a game of Russian roulette on America's highways."

LOL. Americans are playing “Russian roulette” every time a Teamster climbs in a vehicle, IMO.

I'll take my chances with the Mexicans.

[SubGeniusX]

What could go wrong????

[fantom]

It will be fun to see what happens when these uninsured and ill repaired trucks are involved in crashes that result in death or disfigurement. Here in LA they just run from the scene and leave the S##t box. OH of course , the tax payers will pick up the tab . How silly of me.

[FreeAtlanta]

I like this. The more the Mexicans are allowed to produce and ship to us, the less the Chinese get (which gets turned into weapons and economic power against us) and the fewer Illegals that will be coming to the US.

[Syncro]

...interview drivers to make sure they can read and speak English.

I am sure we will hear cries of racism over that pesky little requirement.

[ladtx]

Expect to see a lot of the "big rigs" on the road soon.

[sgtbono2002]

Why are we screwing around , get this crap over with. make Mexico a State and be done with it.

If we dont make it a state in a few years they will be making most of the Southwest a Mexican state.

[ANGGAPO]

I bet that the terrorists love this insane move. We are sure to regret it.

[mikeybaby]

I'm sure this program will be at least as rigorous as the inspections that we enforce on the illegal aliens coming from Mexico.
For a real laugh, Google Mary Peters.
Another do nothing bureaucratic hack. She wouldn't know a tire iron or a fifth-wheel if it bit her in the butt.

[mikeybaby]

Silly you: Bush would actually prosecute
Americans that stole a Mexicans stuff.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

Disable these Mexican trucks as they drive up our highways through any means available.

[GourmetDan]

Hey, that looks like a wheat truck I used to drive during the harvest. Had to pump the brakes 3 times to get a firm pedal. Try doing that fully loaded.

Them Mexicans got nothin on me!

[GourmetDan]

"Why are we screwing around , get this crap over with. make Mexico a State and be done with it."

Haven't heard of the 'amero', I presume?

That's exactly the plan.

[Centurion2000]

Disable these Mexican trucks as they drive up our highways through any means available.

Noted.

[showme_the_Glory]

Disable these Mexican trucks as they drive up our highways through any means available.

As an earlier poster mentioned, many NAFTA trucks are self disabling as they drive.

[Types_with_Fist]

... and keep our roads safe at the same time

That's simply an amazing thing for Mary Peters to say. Did she have to leave the room suddenly to guffaw off-camera?