Mexico Trucker Online

The final report issued by the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General on the Mexican Cross Border Program was made public on Tuesday, and there were no surprises in the report.

Once again, the Inspector General has validated all that has been reported on this site. Furthermore, the report totally debunks the inaccurate and erroneous statements made over the past two years by Jimmy Hoffa and the people at OOIDA.

The report can be downloaded here for your review.

It is suggested that one reads it throughly to get the full impact of the IG’s findings.

Here are some highlights of the report.

Let’s start out with the IG’s report on Trinity Industries. Ya’ll remember Trinity Industries and their Mexican subsidiary Trinity de Mexico SA de CV? They’re the ones that Todd Spencer and OOIDA and Jimmy Hoffa of the Teamsters tried to convince everyone was so unsafe. Well,

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s (OOIDA) claim
that Trinity had received over 112 violations per truck during the year prior
to the demonstration project was substantiated; but OOIDA’s claim did not
indicate that Trinity’s out-of-service violations numbered only 74, or an
average of 7.4 out-of-service violations per motorized vehicle over the
1-year period. Trinity’s out-of-service rates were lower than similar rates
for United States carriers during this same period. We found no evidence
that Trinity or other demonstration project participants had poor safety histories before
being admitted into the project based on FMCSA’s data on
the operations of these carriers in the United States.

There is more, but read it for yourself. In a nutshell, OOIDA reported 112 violations per vehicle but did not tell us the rest of the story. This happened before the 9th Circuit also.

Jimmy Hoffa and the folks at OOIDA continue to make the claim of “Dangerous Mexican Trucks”. Indeed, with them “Dangerous” is synonymous with Mexican trucks, but again, not true.

For once, the IG’s report included the Mexican carriers “grandfathered and certified” (G&C) under the 1982 moratorium banning foreign trucks from operating in the US.

The results are conclusive and inescapable. Mexican trucks as a whole have a better safety record than US carriers.

Other Findings:

The following findings are very important because they totally debunk recurring statements by both OOIDA and Teamsters.

• The Mexican drug and alcohol test collection system was at least equivalent to U.S. requirements in most respects.
•   Mexico was making progress in improving inspection and accident databases rules and regulations and initiate enforcement actions.  

Opponents of the program have tried to convince the public that this is not the case. So who knows more? The IG or those with a protectionist agenda.

The downside was mostly of a technical nature. Again, with the IG suggesting there was not enough participants to yield statistically valid results. However, this opinion was made on FMCSA initial claim of participation of 775 companies. If numbers are adjusted for actual participants, then the problem goes away. Without regard to that, the fact remains that the participants have had ZERO accidents and ZERO serious safety violations. To most people, that would be a sign of success.

The IG acknowledged the thoroughness of the vetting process which drove away companies that had originally shown a desire to participate.

The remainder of the problems noted consisted of reporting between FMCSA and the cooperation of CBP officials at the border. All minor suggestions that FMCSA concurred with.

This will be prime evidence when Congress pulls funding for this program, without justification, and the lawsuits begin. I forsee that happening soon after the bill is signed and I also predict an injunction being issued to keep the program in force. 

There is no logical or common sense reason to stop the program unless it is to open the border immediately, which is our obligation under NAFTA. There is nothing in this report to suggest that Mexican carriers or unable to operate in full compliance with USDOT rules and regulations and do so in a safe manner.

This report also proves that the oppositions, the protectionists who are scared of a little competition, will do anything, including lying to the American people, to push their agenda.