U.S. Officials Bicker Over Mexican Trucks

A senator raises questions about the legality of a pilot program allowing the vehicles on roads north of the border zone.

WASHINGTON -- Senators and the Bush administration clashed Tuesday about the legality of a pilot program allowing Mexican trucks to travel anywhere in the U.S., a day after the Transportation Department's inspector general released a report on the program that raised some concerns.

During an oversight hearing by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) said the department had gone ahead with the program even though Congress cut its funding in December.

Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters "has found lawyers who are willing to tell her that some technical loophole in the language allows the pilot program to proceed," he said.

The program allows participating Mexican trucks to travel anywhere in the United States. Until it began, the trucks were limited to an area about 25 miles north of the border, and any cargo headed outside that zone had to be transferred to U.S. trucks.

Giving Mexican trucks greater access to U.S. roads was part of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Under NAFTA, U.S. states just north of the border were to be opened to Mexican trucks in 1995 and the rest of the country in 2000.

In 2001, a NAFTA dispute resolution panel found that by refusing all Mexican trucks, the United States was violating the agreement's provisions.

But opposition by labor unions and safety groups delayed implementation of that part of NAFTA. In addition to what they have described as the trucks' lower safety standards and higher exhaust emissions, critics have cited Mexican drivers' lack of proficiency in English and suspected drug use among some of them as reasons to keep the trucks off U.S. roads.

The pilot program, with 18 Mexican companies participating, began in September. On Monday, the Department of Transportation's inspector general released a report on its first six months, showing that despite the fears about unsafe Mexican trucks on roads across the country, only 6.7% had destinations outside the border zone.

Of those 247 trips outside that zone, 89% were to destinations in California. Eight of the companies are based in Baja California.

During Tuesday's hearing, Inspector General Calvin L. Scovel III told the panel that despite plans to inspect every participating truck each time it crosses the border, methods to check driver's licenses and inspection decals were not yet in place. "We don't know that every truck has been inspected every time," he said.

In response, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, James P. Hoffa, said the six-month report raises more safety concerns about opening the borders.

"They're not even pretending anymore that they'll inspect every truck every time it crosses the border," he said in a statement released by the union. "They're just saying they will glance at a driver's license and safety decal, and now the inspector general reports there's no assurances that's even being done."

Scovel told the senators that the low number of participating trucking companies -- 18 of an expected 100 -- meant that he could not draw meaningful conclusions about the trucks' safety.

More companies are expected to participate once the one-year trial period ends.

In her testimony, Peters said the issues raised in the report were "exactly the kind of things a test program is designed to identify."

She also countered Dorgan's assertion that the program was being run illegally because funding had been withdrawn.

He has asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate whether the department is violating a law that prohibits agencies from spending money unless it is appropriated by Congress.

The legislation that removed the program's funding in December stated that money could not be used to "establish a cross-border motor carrier demonstration program."

Peters said because the trucking program was already established, her agency was not breaking the law.

"We certainly do not believe our continuation of cross-border trucking is a violation of that act," she said.

Dorgan said moving ahead with the program was a "slap in the face of Congress."

The Los Angeles Times; Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Mexican Trucks

DOBBS: One Democratic senator is demanding a federal investigation into whether the Transportation Department broke the law by spending federal money to go ahead, despite congressional opposition and absolute scriptures against a pilot program that allows Mexican trucks on our roads. That pilot program is part of NAFTA.

It allows Mexican trucks, at the discretion of the Bush administration, to travel anywhere in the United States. And at a hearing this week, Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota simply blasted the secretary of the Department of Transportation for her absolute defiance of Congress and starting that program, even though Congress cut its funding in December.

SEN. BYRON DORGAN (D), NORTH DAKOTA: I think that there's an arrogance here with respect to federal agencies. There would not be a hearing if the Department of Transportation had complied with congressional intent. Congress has explicitly said you may not proceed with the pilot program.

DOBBS: Senator Dorgan went on to say continuing that program is straightforwardly a slap in the face of Congress, not to mention the American people.

CNN: Lou Dobbs Tonight; Thursday, March 13, 2008

Big Rigs Rolling

Then change the law. There are the watchwords for North Carolina legislators, and if necessary, for members of the state's congressional delegation, when it comes to allowing longer truck trailers on hundreds of miles of highways in the state. The state Attorney General's Office has ruled that length limits from the Department of Transportation are more restrictive than those allowed by state and federal law. The result: DOT now is drawing up new maps showing where 53-foot trailers will be allowed. The old limit on the trailers was 48 feet, and many of the longer trailers have been drawing tickets. That has made haulers and the companies for whom they deliver unhappy.

If the laws trump DOT regulations, then it's the laws that need to be changed, not the regulations. Highway safety advocates, including the State Highway Patrol, are adamant in their belief that longer trailers will be more hazardous on more roads. To make some turns, especially on narrow roads, trucks (at 48 feet) already have to go across center lines. Those North Carolinians who've traveled much in the mountains can attest to the hazards, and Lt. Everett Clendenin of the Patrol says, "So a 53-foot trailer is really going to present a problem up there, in our opinion."

Those who support longer trailers say that more capacity for deliveries will mean fewer vehicles hauling more stuff. Maybe so, but what about that balanced against greater hazards for average motorists dwarfed by huge trucks? A safety advocate in Washington put it this way: "These guys are going to be on roads with lots of vertical and horizontal curves and short sight distances. It will increase the risk of crashes, absolutely."

It's true that North Carolina's rules have been more strict than most other states'. Guess what? That's a good thing. So let's hope the General Assembly and, if need be, the state's representatives in Congress will not go along to get along, but will act to protect stronger rules, and the citizens who share our highways with the big rigs.

The News & Observer; Tuesday, March 4, 2008

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