While in Pittsburgh this morning waiting for a flight back to San Francisco I picked up a copy of the Sunday Tribune Review and on the front page is an article named "Truckers Dread Mexican Rigs" with a picture and quote from Jerry Herndon, from Dothan, Alabama. Driver for Panther Expedited Services. Story and picture is at www.pghtrib.com
Panther driver makes front page news in Pittsburgh
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RE: Panther driver makes front page news in Pittsb
Truckers dread Mexican big rigs
By Rick Stouffer
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Jerry Herndon's face soured when asked about Mexican truckers delivering cargo anywhere in the United States.
"The idea of opening up our borders to Mexican truckers makes it a lot easier for illegal immigrants and illegal drugs to come across the border," Herndon said at the Flying J Truck Stop in Smithton, Westmoreland County. "I don't like it."
Herndon, a driver for Panther Expedited Services Inc., Seville, Ohio, and thousands of other U.S. truckers may soon have to accept the presence of Mexican trucks and drivers. The Bush administration is pushing forward with long-stalled plans to open U.S. highways to Mexican trucks to fulfill an obligation under the North American Free Trade Agreement signed in 1993.
Plans to open the border to commercial traffic have been blocked since 1995 by congressional opponents, the Teamsters union and some environmental groups.
story continues below
President Bush's plans for a test program to permit 100 Mexican-based trucking companies to travel anywhere in the United States could be pushed back to 2008. The program was to begin as early as this summer, but a congressionally mandated audit by the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General could take as long as six months.
Truckers say they don't trust the roadworthiness of Mexican trucks, the skills of the drivers and the U.S. government's efforts to enforce strict rules of the road.
"Everything that we have to do as an American trucker, they should have to do when they come here -- mandatory," said Robin Taylor, 50, of Port Charlotte, Fla., a driver for Werner Enterprises in Omaha. "I've seen their equipment -- it's 20 years behind ours."
Since 1982, Mexican trucks coming across the border have been required to stay within 20-mile-wide commercial zones at each official crossing point. U.S. companies then pick up the Mexican goods and deliver the items throughout the nation. In 2006, about $126.5 billion of goods came across the border, carried on 4.8 million Mexican trucks, according to Transportation Department statistics.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is leading the administration's efforts to implement the test program.
U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, was one of 114 House members who sent a letter to President Bush on July 2, expressing their "grave concerns" regarding the cross-border program.
"My concern is that to allow this program to continue, with no authority to comply with the ability to speak English, or how much time is spent behind the wheel -- it's unbelievable the president would even consider this," Altmire said.
"U.S. enforcement officials don't have the ability to enforce our laws in Mexico, and once you open the borders, are the enforcement officials in Pennsylvania, in Ohio going to be able to enforce these laws? No," said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the 154,000-member Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, in Grain Valley, Mo.
In May, the House passed a separate bill, known as the Safe Americans Road Act, by a 411-3 vote. The legislation would prevent Mexican carriers from leaving the border zones until more conditions are met, including holding public hearings, placing a three-year limit on the test and creating an independent panel to monitor and evaluate the program. The bill is based on a 2002 law that demanded strict verification of insurance coverage, hours of service worked, drug and alcohol testing programs and safety management. The Senate has yet to act on the Safe Americans bill.
"It's a very rigorous program to be one of the 100 Mexican companies," said spokeswoman Melissa Mazzella DeLaney, of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. "It begins with a 30-page application -- and we've already disqualified some 400 of 800 companies because of incomplete applications."
DeLaney said every Mexican company must go through a "rigorous" pre-authorization safety audit, conducted by U.S. inspectors at the owners' places of business. Thus far, 34 Mexican companies and 157 trucks have passed the audit.
Critics say safety systems and licensing requirements for trucks are very similar in the United States and Canada, another NAFTA member. That isn't the case with Mexico.
"We have no ability to determine whether or not Mexican laws are equivalent to laws here," said Gerald Donaldson, a senior research director with the nonprofit Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety in Washington. "We don't know what their physical qualifications are for drivers, and we believe their commercial drivers licenses are based on pre-existing physical examinations" that could be old.
Government regulations for U.S. truckers and companies are strict concerning such procedures as the number of hours a trucker drives and mandated drug tests. Each driver must keep a log book of his or her activities. If a driver is stopped by law enforcement for any reason, the logbook always is one of the documents requested.
"In Mexico, there aren't any hours of service regulations," Donaldson said. "As part of this program, the Mexican truckers will be required to keep a log documenting their previous seven days -- but who's verifying?"
DeLaney said the Mexican trucks will be inspected every time they cross the U.S. border. She said the drivers will be trained to keep logbooks, and they must speak passable English. Drug testing will be conducted by U.S. personnel.
"We've been very cautious. We're certainly not rushing this program," DeLaney said.
Many truckers heading south into Mexico say the roads can be unsafe. The U.S. State Department, in fact, warns on its Web site that U.S. citizens should exercise caution when traveling in unfamiliar areas in Mexico because of narcotics-related violence. It said dozens of U.S. citizens have been kidnapped in Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas.
Rick Stouffer can be reached at [email protected] or 412-320-7853.
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Truckers dread Mexican big rigs
By Rick Stouffer
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Jerry Herndon's face soured when asked about Mexican truckers delivering cargo anywhere in the United States.
"The idea of opening up our borders to Mexican truckers makes it a lot easier for illegal immigrants and illegal drugs to come across the border," Herndon said at the Flying J Truck Stop in Smithton, Westmoreland County. "I don't like it."
Herndon, a driver for Panther Expedited Services Inc., Seville, Ohio, and thousands of other U.S. truckers may soon have to accept the presence of Mexican trucks and drivers. The Bush administration is pushing forward with long-stalled plans to open U.S. highways to Mexican trucks to fulfill an obligation under the North American Free Trade Agreement signed in 1993.
Plans to open the border to commercial traffic have been blocked since 1995 by congressional opponents, the Teamsters union and some environmental groups.
story continues below
President Bush's plans for a test program to permit 100 Mexican-based trucking companies to travel anywhere in the United States could be pushed back to 2008. The program was to begin as early as this summer, but a congressionally mandated audit by the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General could take as long as six months.
Truckers say they don't trust the roadworthiness of Mexican trucks, the skills of the drivers and the U.S. government's efforts to enforce strict rules of the road.
"Everything that we have to do as an American trucker, they should have to do when they come here -- mandatory," said Robin Taylor, 50, of Port Charlotte, Fla., a driver for Werner Enterprises in Omaha. "I've seen their equipment -- it's 20 years behind ours."
Since 1982, Mexican trucks coming across the border have been required to stay within 20-mile-wide commercial zones at each official crossing point. U.S. companies then pick up the Mexican goods and deliver the items throughout the nation. In 2006, about $126.5 billion of goods came across the border, carried on 4.8 million Mexican trucks, according to Transportation Department statistics.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is leading the administration's efforts to implement the test program.
U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, was one of 114 House members who sent a letter to President Bush on July 2, expressing their "grave concerns" regarding the cross-border program.
"My concern is that to allow this program to continue, with no authority to comply with the ability to speak English, or how much time is spent behind the wheel -- it's unbelievable the president would even consider this," Altmire said.
"U.S. enforcement officials don't have the ability to enforce our laws in Mexico, and once you open the borders, are the enforcement officials in Pennsylvania, in Ohio going to be able to enforce these laws? No," said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the 154,000-member Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, in Grain Valley, Mo.
In May, the House passed a separate bill, known as the Safe Americans Road Act, by a 411-3 vote. The legislation would prevent Mexican carriers from leaving the border zones until more conditions are met, including holding public hearings, placing a three-year limit on the test and creating an independent panel to monitor and evaluate the program. The bill is based on a 2002 law that demanded strict verification of insurance coverage, hours of service worked, drug and alcohol testing programs and safety management. The Senate has yet to act on the Safe Americans bill.
"It's a very rigorous program to be one of the 100 Mexican companies," said spokeswoman Melissa Mazzella DeLaney, of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. "It begins with a 30-page application -- and we've already disqualified some 400 of 800 companies because of incomplete applications."
DeLaney said every Mexican company must go through a "rigorous" pre-authorization safety audit, conducted by U.S. inspectors at the owners' places of business. Thus far, 34 Mexican companies and 157 trucks have passed the audit.
Critics say safety systems and licensing requirements for trucks are very similar in the United States and Canada, another NAFTA member. That isn't the case with Mexico.
"We have no ability to determine whether or not Mexican laws are equivalent to laws here," said Gerald Donaldson, a senior research director with the nonprofit Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety in Washington. "We don't know what their physical qualifications are for drivers, and we believe their commercial drivers licenses are based on pre-existing physical examinations" that could be old.
Government regulations for U.S. truckers and companies are strict concerning such procedures as the number of hours a trucker drives and mandated drug tests. Each driver must keep a log book of his or her activities. If a driver is stopped by law enforcement for any reason, the logbook always is one of the documents requested.
"In Mexico, there aren't any hours of service regulations," Donaldson said. "As part of this program, the Mexican truckers will be required to keep a log documenting their previous seven days -- but who's verifying?"
DeLaney said the Mexican trucks will be inspected every time they cross the U.S. border. She said the drivers will be trained to keep logbooks, and they must speak passable English. Drug testing will be conducted by U.S. personnel.
"We've been very cautious. We're certainly not rushing this program," DeLaney said.
Many truckers heading south into Mexico say the roads can be unsafe. The U.S. State Department, in fact, warns on its Web site that U.S. citizens should exercise caution when traveling in unfamiliar areas in Mexico because of narcotics-related violence. It said dozens of U.S. citizens have been kidnapped in Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas.
Rick Stouffer can be reached at [email protected] or 412-320-7853.
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fortwayne
Not a Member
RE: Panther driver makes front page news in Pittsb
I am glad some media outlets are finally starting to cover this issue which will lead us down a path of unsafe highways, more illegals bailing out when here in the states, more crime, a higher strain on our medical system when all these Mexican drivers start showing up at our hospitals, and the list goes on and on. STOP IN NOW. EVEN THOUGH KNOWING DICTATOR BUSH HE WILL GET IT DOWN.
Fort Wayne
Guided By God
I am glad some media outlets are finally starting to cover this issue which will lead us down a path of unsafe highways, more illegals bailing out when here in the states, more crime, a higher strain on our medical system when all these Mexican drivers start showing up at our hospitals, and the list goes on and on. STOP IN NOW. EVEN THOUGH KNOWING DICTATOR BUSH HE WILL GET IT DOWN.
Fort Wayne
Guided By God