Randall-Reilly Publishing
Randall-Reilly™
eTrucker POLL
Polls sponsored by

Q. Are you worried that coming health regulations could jeopardize your CDL?
Trucking Headlines
Officials stage cross-border inspections
By Todd Dills


"Inspect the Bush administration," said protest signs held by Teamsters, who fear job competition from Mexican truckers.
U.S. DOT officials, along with their Mexican counter- parts, staged inspec- tions of two 2007 Freight- liner tractors outside DOT headquarters in Washington, D.C., Oct. 17 as the Teamsters protested nearby.

“We want to demonstrate to Congress," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, "that tough safety standards and rigorous inspections work, and that trucks participating in this program will have the same features, the same upkeep, and the same commitment to safety that any U.S. truck has."

Congress is considering two versions of the transportation appropriations bill for fiscal 2008. Both contain language that would cut funding for the administration’s cross-border trucking demonstration program. Fewer than 20 trucks are involved in the program so far, though as many as 100 carriers from each country, and multiple trucks from each carrier, could be approved.

A crowd of 30 or more Teamsters-affiliated protesters waved signs near the event, saying it proved nothing about the safety of Mexican trucks.

One of the inspected vehicles was Truck 52, a Columbia in the Transportes Olympic fleet based in Neuvo Leon, Mexico, that was the first truck under the pilot program to cross the border Sept. 8. Truck 52 also was inspected publicly at the Feb. 22 press event in Mexico, held at the Transportes Olympic yard, that formally announced the cross-border program.

The other inspected truck Oct. 17 was a Century Class owned by U.S. Xpress Enterprises.

As part of the cross-border program, strict Level 1 inspections are performed at every crossing on “every truck, every time,” said FMCSA Administrator John Hill. On Oct. 17, however, the two tractors received a less stringent Level 2 inspection by Trooper 1st Class Jason Lambert and Capt. Bill Doffelmeyer of the Maryland State Police, accompanied by Peters, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Mexican Transportation Secretary Luis Tellez.

“I think it’s insulting what they’ve done here today,” said Tommy Ratliff, former Consolidated Freightways driver and president of Teamsters Local 639 in Washington, D.C. “Our drivers are held to standards. This proves nothing. What happens when the cameras go off?”

Todd Spencer of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, in a press release, agreed: “Akin to a magician’s pretty assistant distracting an audience from what he is up to, this is just another attempt by DOT to divert attention away from the program’s deficiencies.”

Tellez said driver drug testing programs and licensing standards for Mexican drivers in the program are equivalent those in the United States. “The mythmakers want you to believe that Mexican trucks and drivers are less safe than U.S. trucks and drivers,” he said, then paraphrased Mark Twain: “That’s a real stretcher.”

Both Tellez and Peters acknowledged that the demonstration program was meant to show that, on the safety front, both governments are proceeding in a “fact-based” manner, gathering data and applying appropriate controls.

Peters kept her message focused, however, on Congress, urging members to change just “a few words” for the final version of the appropriations bill to keep the program up and running.

Guttierez said ballooning trade activity at the border demonstrates the need for the program. Trade at the U.S.-Mexican border has more than tripled since the North American Free Trade Agreement’s beginnings in 1993.

Send this page to a friend Email This To a Friend
Recent Articles:
2/2/2010- : Diesel prices fall 3rd straight week
2/2/2010- : Keep your heart fit
2/2/2010- : Overdrive Trucker of the Year
2/1/2010- : Cargo theft rises 12% in 2009
2/1/2010- : Seattle port trucks updated
1/29/2010- : Truckers urge hours flexibility
1/29/2010- : IdleAire shuts down
1/29/2010- : South Carolina closes 4 rest areas
1/28/2010- : TCA announces best carriers

Archived Stories:
1/16/2010 HOS sessions begin
1/15/2010 Bank sues Arrow Trucking for $12.5M
1/15/2010 Universal Truckload acquires 3 firms
1/15/2010 Distracted driving group formed
12/7/2009 Fewer trucking job losses in November
12/7/2009 ATA official: Build roads to help economy
12/7/2009 NY extends comment time on trucks
12/7/2009 Penn. plans truck inspections
12/1/2009 Border cops nail truckers with drugs
12/1/2009 U.S. diesel drops 4th straight week
11/30/2009 Back On the Road deadline Dec. 6
11/16/2009 National diesel prices drop
11/12/2009 Freight index down 0.5% in Sept.
11/11/2009 Rhode Island bans texting while driving
11/10/2009 7,500 trucking jobs lost in October


More Trucking Headlines stories:

Paccar to open engine plant

California fining for reefer violations

Sleep apnea session planned

CARB starts hybrid funding plan

Clouse chosen Trucker of the Month

Oil, trucking groups file Calif. fuel suit

Diesel prices fall 3rd straight week

Keep your heart fit

Overdrive Trucker of the Year

Cargo theft rises 12% in 2009

Seattle port trucks updated

Truckers urge hours flexibility

IdleAire shuts down

South Carolina closes 4 rest areas

NAFTA trade drops in November


Also in News
Business News
Top News Stories
New Products
Industry Briefs