Bus Crash in Arizona

The fatal bus crash in Arizona is being used by opportunists to oppose Mexican trucks and to add fuel to the immigration debate.

The bus belonging to TIERRA SANTA,  that rolled over on a busy interstate outside Phoenix, killing six people and leaving 16 others injured early Friday, is now being used as an example by opponents of allowing Mexican trucks on our highways (although they’ve been here for decades) and in others are using it in their vile opposition to reforming immigration and as an opportunity to bash Mexicans.

The bus, a late model Mercedes Benz Marcopolo,  was traveling from the central Mexican state of Zacatecas to Los Angeles.

It entered the United States at El Paso, Texas, and was traveling westbound on Interstate 10 with 22 passengers when it hit a pickup, veered onto the left shoulder of the road, then overcorrected in the opposite direction and rolled once before landing on its wheels. The roof of the bus was crushed and all of its windows were knocked out.

The crash occurred about 5:30 a.m. MST on the Gila River Indian Reservation near the community of Sacaton, some 25 miles south of downtown Phoenix. Two men and four women were thrown about 10 yards from the bus and killed.

The FMCSA says the bus was operating without the required %5 million dollar liability required of interstate bus companies and had been denied interstate operating authority. We also confirmed this on the FMCSA  SAFERSYS site.

A DIFFERENT STANDARD FOR BUSES

Tierra Santa, based in Los Angeles and Durango Mexico, is common of a problem we have in the United States when it concerns enforcement of motor vehicle laws between buses and big rigs.
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fmcsalogo200From “The Trucker”

WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in response to a lawsuit concerning the Hours of Service regulations, has in essence agreed to review the 2008 HOS rule from scratch and issue a new Final Rule in less than two years.

In light of the decision to reconsider the rule, the petitioners who brought the suit, Public Citizen, et al., and FMCSA have entered into a settlement agreement that will put the case in abeyance pending the issuance of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which the FMCSA must submit to the Office of Management and Budget for review within nine months of the settlement (Oct. 26, 2009) and the publishing of a Final Rule within 21 months of the date of settlement.
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Teamsters President James Hoffa who seems to think that people still believe his lies about "unsafe Mexican trucks" despite overwhelming evidence to the contraryOn Tuesday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a report that looked at the effect of three trade actions/inactions by the Administration are having and will have on American workers.

One of the three actions concerned the failure to implement NAFTA trucking provisions, which have been challenged for more than 15 years. Of course, Teamsters President James Hoffa has to chime in with his usual irrelevant opinion.
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frio_expressThe federal government has prompted yet another delay in the implementation of a NAFTA provision that allows Mexican truckers to bring cargo from that country to U.S. markets.

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, that provision should have gone into effect on Jan. 1, 1995 — more than 14½ years ago.

The U.S. Transportation Department’s inspector general on Wednesday issued a report stating that the department still needs more information to determine if Mexican trucks are safe enough to enter this country.

The report, prepared by department auditors, says that some states don’t adequately report the nationality of people convicted of traffic violations, and that some buses aren’t inspected sufficiently when they cross the border.

This despite a 2007 pilot program that allowed a limited number of Mexican trucks free access throughout the country. Most people didn’t even notice the program was in operation, suggesting there was no sudden rash of accidents due to their presence on U.S. roads.
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James Hoffa whose "hot air" is suspected of being a prime cause of the mythical global warming

James Hoffa whose "hot air" is suspected of being a prime cause of the mythical global warming

James Hoffa came out of hiding today to respond to the OIG Final Report on FMCSA compliance with Section 350 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2002 and as usual, his comments were totally irrelevant, and contrary to what the report suggests. This is the type of comments we’ve come to expect and ignore from Hoffa.

As expected, Hoffa’s initial response to the report was to declare that the “inspector general report shows once and for all that the border should remain closed to unsafe Mexican trucks.”

We don’t disagree with that sentiment. All unsafe trucks, Mexican, Canadian and American, should be banished from America’s highways.
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