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Mexican Truck Program Endangers Motorists, Opponents Charge

Poll Finds Majority Views Plan as Dangerous

June 20, 2007

The groups - including Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Public Citizen and the Truck Safety Coalition - released an analysis of the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) program showing the agency failing to comply with federal law.

They also released a recent opinion poll revealing the public's opposition to the plan.

In February, the administration announced plans to conduct a "pilot program" allowing up to 1,000 Mexico-domiciled trucks to travel beyond the current border zones. In 2001, Congress had passed legislation that put a premium on upgrading inspection facilities, computer databases and other safety-related requirements before opening the southern border for long-haul trucks.

The Bush administration has still not finished implementing the safety requirements in that law, but decided this year to rush ahead with the pilot program in an attempt to open the border.

On May 24, Congress approved provisions in a supplemental Iraq War funding bill to ensure that any pilot program to allow Mexico-domiciled trucks full access to the nation's highways would not circumvent safety standards or congressional oversight.

The provisions ordered the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which is responsible for implementing the administration's cross-border pilot program, to obey a number of requirements that the agency is still said to be ignoring.

These provisions, signed into law by the president, require:

• the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to follow all applicable rules and regulations concerning the formulation of pilot programs and cross-border trucking;
• Mexico-based trucking companies and trucks to comply with all applicable U.S. laws; and
• the administration to ensure that the operation of these trucks within the United States would not have a negative impact on safety.

The groups today accused the administration of brazenly pressing forward without meeting many of the safety provisions directed by Congress.

Less than three weeks after the legislation was signed into law, FMCSA published a notice in the Federal Register on June 8 that in effect declared that the agency had met all of the congressionally mandated safety requirements to open the southern border.

"The Bush administration and the DOT have failed in all respects to meet congressional requirements to put safety first before forcing open the border to potentially dangerous long-haul trucks," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen and chair of Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH).

"The agency needs to obey the law and tell Congress how it plans to follow its requirements. The DOT should not implement any cross-border trucking pilot program until it can make the grade. In persisting with its current program, FMCSA is disregarding the will of Congress and the safety of the American people."

A new poll released by the groups today and conducted by the nonpartisan Lake Research Partners found that a majority of Americans (56 percent) believe the Bush administration's plan to allow Mexico-domiciled trucks to travel outside the current commercial zone and throughout the United States is dangerous.

Majority agreement that this is dangerous for U.S. drivers transcends gender, age, political identification and region. Notably, self-identified independents (60 percent) are most likely to agree that the Bush proposal is dangerous, though majorities of Democrats (54 percent) and Republicans (58 percent) concur.

Todd Spencer, a former truck driver and executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), stated, "The administration is simply thumbing its nose at the safety and security concerns that have been raised by Congress and the American people."

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