Posted on 11/08/2011 10:30:17 AM PST by Kaslin
After years of negative votes in Congress and the opposition of the American people, on Oct. 21 Barack Obama allowed the first Mexican truck to cross the border at Laredo, Texas, and head north to deliver door-to-door service of its industrial equipment. This was implemented by an agreement quietly signed by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in Mexico City on July 6 with Mexico's secretary of Communications and Transportation.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., calls this deal a major anti-jobs program saying, "We're literally taking good jobs here in America and passing them over the line to Mexico." Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Independent Drivers Association, a non-union trade association, said 100,000 trucking jobs will be lost.
The Mexican company that won the distinction of being first-in-line to cross the border was Transportes Olympic. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration immediately granted it "permanent operating authority," instead of making the company abide by the specified 18-month waiting period, which means Transportes' trucks will not have to be inspected at the border every time they cross.
FMCSA announced that all Mexican trucks participating in this project will be given Electronic On-Board Recorders equipped with global positioning capabilities and paid for by the U.S. taxpayers. FMCSA also announced that U.S. trucks must install similar equipment at their own expense.
U.S. taxpayers are also being required to pick up the cost of replacing old mufflers on dozens of Mexican trucks at a cost of $1,600 each, while U.S. truckers must buy their own mufflers. The excuse is that this will improve air quality on our highways.
But EOBRs and mufflers are only part of the expensive regulations hitting U.S. truckers. Obama has imposed new fuel-efficiency regulations, new emissions targets and new safety regulations.
The large trucking firms may be able to absorb the cost, but independent truckers will be hit hard. If they can't afford to buy compliant rigs, they will have to cease operation.
It's apparently Obama's conscious policy to disfavor small trucking firms by regulatory favoritism. It's also Obama's policy to favor Mexican trucks with U.S. taxpayer handouts.
The chatter in Washington is about creating jobs for Americans and cutting spending. However, Todd Spencer says, "this program does exactly the opposite for both" and will "jeopardize the livelihoods of tens of thousands of U.S.-based, small-business truckers" as well as "undermine the standard of living for the rest of the driver community."
Americans who drive daily on U.S. highways are very concerned about safety when Mexican trucks are added to the many U.S. trucks already on our roads. The U.S-Mexico agreement requires us to accept Mexican commercial driver licenses, but Mexico has no real system of driver licensing, training, drug testing, physical requirements, truck safety inspection or brake standards that match U.S. rules.
Mexico cannot produce records of drivers' accidents or drug, alcohol use or a truck's record of brake safety or emissions. Also, Mexico is a country where bribes are the customary method of bypassing regulations.
George W. Bush's Transportation Secretary Mary Peters admitted at a Senate hearing that the U.S. regularly checks "proficient in English" when Mexican drivers answer questions and explain U.S. traffic signs in Spanish. Senator Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., was so incredulous at this reply that he had her repeat it, which she did.
The LaHood-Mexican agreement pretends to address this prevarication, stating that the exams are to be conducted orally in English. However, the agreement does not specify that the Mexican driver must speak English when he responds and explains U.S. laws and signs.
Even though Obama is a big advocate of clean air and green jobs, there is no mention in the agreement that Mexican trucks should adhere to the environmental standards imposed on American trucks. Juan Carlos Mu?oz, president of Mexico's National Chamber of Motor Transport of Freight, said that Mexican companies "do not have sufficient capacity to supply the diesel suitable for these new technologies," and that, if held to these requirements, Mexican truckers would be unable to "ever enter the United States, at least not for the next 20 years."
The reciprocal promise to allow U.S. trucks to drive into Mexico doesn't pass the laugh test. A U.S. trucker would be taking his life into his hands if he drove his truck into northern Mexico, where he would become a target to be robbed and killed by the Mexican drug cartels.
Thank you for adding to my store of Civil War incunabula. Norlyuns still has the aroma of a town where this custom has not entirely disappeared. BTW, Why our SUV's, which are also splendid beasts, are not powered by 2.5liter turbodiesels is completely beyond me. Someone high up in the EPA apparently was frightened in utero by a 1948 Mercedes 190 diesel and is singlehandedly keeping them out of the country. Diesel fuel has also been totally jiggered about to be "sulfur-free" and as a result, instead of being a brown liquid with just the larger dino turds and sticks filtered out, now resembles virgin olive oil, except it is more expensive. I was used to paying about 15 cents per gallon for the aggie version of the crap, which of course we used in everything from our trusty MB 300TD to a lobsterboat and Oliver Tractor.
The Japs run run their Corollas with a really nice 1.8l diesel, @ 55mpg. Here a Corolla is quite needlessly faster off the line than a 1965 Ferrari. Wat's wit dat?
BTW, in my careless youth, I was in Libya, where the oil comes out of the ground just about ready to become diesel fuel. Beautiful stuff!
Not true. And there's nothing wrong with good quality retreads.
VW and Audi are offering turbo diesels right now. VW has a 2 liter and Audi 2 and 3 liters. I’ve been watching for some of the new high performance diesels to arrive here since I learned about them.
” I was used to paying about 15 cents per gallon for the aggie version of the crap, which of course we used in everything from our trusty MB 300TD to a lobsterboat and Oliver Tractor.”
I was reading about the reclaimed fryer oil diesels awhile back. Apparently the newer diesels have injection systems that can’t handle the stuff whereas the older engines like your venerable 300TD don’t miss a beat. Something to do with venturi size and vegetable oil having paraffin.
You’re too predictable. But then you need to make yourself feel superior.
Look for these MexiCommuterSemiPools to be carrying hundreds of illegals each. Delivering them to a needy city near you. In two to three years, the balance of population will shift decidedly.
There is simply NO real excuse for fuel prices at their current level, BTW. That "paraffin" story sounds suspicious. Vegetable oils would be unlikely to have a paraffin base (wax), while many crudes do ... paraffin or ashphalt.
You must be a Class A CDL then???
Tell me where you can by a “good quality” retread in Mexico??? I’d like to know, next time I am down there...
There may not be anything wrong with good quality retreads, but for commercial use, as far as I have known and been told, some state tests (certifications) do talk about this, that retreads are a no-no for apportioned loads...My nieghbor across the street is a CDL independent driver...And I’ll take his word over any about this...So I stand to be corrected, but it has always been somethign I was told that retreads were a no-no for commercial trucking use on tractor trailer loads...
The Mexican “trucking industry” (I use the term loosely) does not strongly regulate the inspection or operation of trucks in their country...You grease the skids the way things usually get greased in those environments...
But if the general convention is that its ok to have our highways littered with retread debris, then fine...
Kinda makes you wonder why the linits for Mexican trucks operating within our borders was only about 50 miles inland for many years...But then again, I may have heard wrong...
I guess you can tell I’ve never been a big fan of NAFTA, or other programs which compramise the safety of Americans on our roads...If you’ve ever driven, or seen how wonderful the driving ettiquite is down south of the border, you’ll understand mine, and a few others concerns we’ve had over the last decade or so...
FYI, I only have a Class B CDL (exemption) to legally allow me to drive and operate Fire Apparatus in my fire district...It mainly covered the weight and vehicles with air brakes that are a part of those organizations...that was where I might have recalled that those departments cannot operate on retreaded tires...
I will gert with my nieghbor tonight, and go back and look at the book(s) to see if the restriction was on our side and not the commercial use of these refurbished tires...
No problem...
Furthermore, on this side of the border, our beloved government has found that road alligators actually are the result of new AND retread tire failure. Here's a useful compendium of retread legal info:
www.goodyear.ca/truck/pdf/radialretserv/Retread_S13_V.pdf
Our amigos to the south are well known as artful regroovers, as well as dicey retreaders. But in this country, retreads for commercial use are a a huge (multi-billion!) industry Say "hi" to all the fellows at the FD.
And you don’t have a response to my (most simple of) observations, as always.
No prob...Thumbs up...hehehe
“And you don’t have a response to my (most simple of) observations, as always.”
It would be rude to puncture your ongoing fantasy, I’d be encroaching on your puerile turf. But it’s easy enough to see what Schlafly meant by “first truck”. Your simplistic reading is what has you confused.
Emotions rule, for you guys.
“But then, you don’t have the cognitive firepower to understand what she’s doing.”
You know rudeboy I don’t think I’ve ever seen another poster compliment you on your intellect.
That’s because you spend too much time on the anti-FReeper sites, with a bunch of old women who have nothing better to do with their time than to sit around and bitch. Give my regards to Willie.
I wouldn’t know where to find an “anti-Freeper” website. Maybe you can share your list, one that includes your friend Willie.
But all the same I find it unfortunate that your cognitive firepower goes unrecognized here.
You shouldn’t have to be the sole champion of your intellectual superiority. It’s too much to expect you to carry that weight all your own, despite your heroic effort in this regard.
Aww . . . is that the best you can do, play stupid? Tell me, do you post under the same name there? If not, why not? Not man enough?
Unbelievable as it is you are mistaken. I bet that doesn’t happen much.
So where is this other site that you speak of? Does the fabled Willie post there as well?
Oh, and thanks for your vote. Are they running “Most Obnoxious FReeper” again this year?
I don’t know. Is that a highly sought after award?
This looks like one for The Bandit, and his buddies, to handle. Breaker 19...Buford T. Justice, where are you good buddy? Got your ears on? Come in.
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