Obviously, and despite claims of critics, Mexican trucks, transportation companies and drivers, differ little from their Canadian and US counterparts
“Cross-border trucking pilot program was flawed”, so goes the continued rant of OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer in an opinion piece in todays Kansas City Star. Not true of course, but what has Spencer and others said about the program that has been true?
And let’s not mince words or use polite euphemisms to cover up the truth of the matter. Coming from Spencer’s lips as usual are more of his lies that are contradicted by the facts.
The following is a breakdown of Spencer’s propaganda attempt in the Star and the truth of the matter.
LIE #1
The safety records cited as showing that Mexican trucks were safe were skewed because participants in the program were in effect exempted from U.S. safety regulations.
Exempted from US Safety Regulations? They were held to higher standards than US and Canadian trucks as proven by the PASA’s and strict oversight when crossing our borders.
LIE #2
Mexico does not have an equivalent system of commercial driver’s license databases. It does not have an adequate substance-abuse testing program or hours-of-service regulations.
- Mexico does have an equivalent license database for Mexican Federal Licenses and Mexico’s Licencia Federal is the equivalent of the US CDL as evidenced in this Letter of Mutual Understanding. Mexico does not feel the need to penalize drivers for infractions committed in personal vehicles as the US does. Mexico has the right to make these rules. It has no effect on driver safety when they operate in the US.
- According to the DOT-OIG Final Report, Mexico has an equivalent substance abuse testing regimen in most respects. It is done in house as a part of the Federal Licensing process by government doctors in government facilities. They also have mobile drug labs staffed by physicians on call for on site testing. They have for cause testing and post accident testing requirements, very similar to the US.
- Mexico does have HOS regulations, more restrictive than US or Canadian HOS rules. However, like the Canadians, when they cross into the US, the operate under our rules. Mexico’s HOS rules permit operations 8 hours per day during the day shift or 7.5 hours during an overnight shift. As such, most line haul operations in Mexico are team operations. Due to English proficiency regulations in the US and entry requirements, Mexican drivers who operated under the Cross Border Program where confined to operating under the program and thus Spencer’s claims of tired drivers have no merit.
LIE #3
Rather than insisting that Mexico make the necessary improvements to its systems, officials from the previous administration accepted Mexico’s systems as equivalent. This special treatment was not required by NAFTA. Congress has not violated NAFTA with its recent action, and Mexico has overreacted by announcing tariffs. Shutting down the pilot program is not a blanket “no.” It’s a “no until you can follow U.S. regulations and laws.” Not only do Mexico’s laws for truck drivers come up short, but so do ours. None of the border states enforce English language requirements. Thirty-four states received no training on how or what to enforce on trucks from Mexico. Enforcement of customs and immigration laws is scarcely a consideration, let alone a plan in the works.
What part of “sovereignty” do these clowns not understand? What matters is that Mexico is able to comply with our rules and regulations while operating in the United States under US laws and regulations, and according to the DOT OIG FINAL REPORT, the Mexican carriers excelled in this. And singularly and combined with the cross border drayage trucks which operated in the commercial zones, and the G&C Mexican carriers who have operated freely in the US for more than 25 years, came back with safety numbers much better than US carriers.
Mexican carriers received NO SPECIAL TREATMENT as Spencer and others claim. They were forced to pass very strict Pre Authorization Safety Audits (PASA) before authority was issued. American and Canadian carriers have an 18 month grace period before they receive their first similar audits. These PASA’s included criminal checks on the company and the drivers, something US and Canadian companies are not required to pass. If anything, Mexican carriers were subjected to SPECIAL TREATMENT in the regard they were looked at much closer than their American counterparts.
Ah, Todd, Todd, Todd! You are so delusional son.
Lies #4, 5 and 6
None of the border states enforce English language requirements
It really is none of your concern whether the border states, in particular Texas, enforce English proficiency requirements. But as it concerns Cross Border Demonstration Program participants, English proficiency was enforced. Read the DOT-OIG Report carefully, The OIG confirms this.
Thirty-four states received no training on how or what to enforce on trucks from Mexico.
Again Todd, read the OIG Report. What it stated was that 34 States chose NOT to receive the training but that training materials had been sent to all states. Who are these 34 states? Perhaps the states that would never see a Mexican truck since it appears the Mexican carriers operate close to the border and southeast. And what is so special about “what to enforce” on Mexican trucks? Simpleton! You enforce the law an regulations in the exact same manner you do for American and Canadian trucks. What is so difficult to understand about that?
Enforcement of customs and immigration laws is scarcely a consideration, let alone a plan in the works.
Once again, when the truth doesn’t mesh with your version of things, throw in the contentious immigration debate.
Mexican drivers are checked each and every time they cross the border. Their docuuments, (passports, I-94′s, Licencia Federal) against various US databases. The trucks are passed through radiation detectors, inspected by K-9 units trained to detect a variety of anomalies, subjected to gamma ray scanning of truck and trailer and if necessary, referred to secondary inspection for closer inspection. C’mon Todd! An old argument that had been thoroughly debunked.
But we will give Spencer credit as in the next paragraph, he verifies what he has denied in the past. That the PASA’s work
The independent panel found federal officials had not decided whether criminal background vetting procedures would be applied to all Mexican carriers that appled for long-haul operations once the border opened — even though the vetting process eliminated 138, or 18%, of the 778 Mexican carriers that already had applied for long-haul authority.
Spencer also is quick to point out the ONE Mexican company that let it’s insurance lapse and was quickly caught, shut down and sanctioned with a monetary penalty by FMCSA. Spencer claims 35 crossings without insurance and who can say whether those numbers are true or not. OOIDA has a problem with being truthful with stats, as evidenced by their statistics about Trinity Industries, something else debunked by the OIG Report. But, the system worked as planned and these 35 crossings were most likely confined to the commercial zone.
One of the Mexican trucking companies in the program allowed its insurance to lapse and subsequently operated improperly in the U.S. According to the independent panel report, that carrier made 36 border crossings and had 35 inspections during this time frame. Clearly the system for verifying information at the border failed in this instance.
Spencer concludes with this incorrect observation to justify his protectionist and xenophobic positions.
The motivation for the retaliatory tariffs didn’t start in Mexico City. It was far closer to home with those economic, global elites that worship only their bottom line, whatever the costs to society. It looks a lot like economic treason to me. And it should be rebuffed in the strongest possible fashion.
No Mr Spencer, you and your organization should be rebuffed in the strongest possible fashion and the US should hold true to it’s word. The Mexican transportation industry has proven, without a doubt, it’s ability to comply with and abide by our rules, regulations and everything else, you, your cronies and others have thrown in their face in your attempts to keep the Mexicans out of this country.
Perhaps if the 160,000 trucker you claim to represent, hardly a majority of the 11 million licensed CDL holders in the US, can’t compete, with a few hundred Mexican trucks, they should consider a career change where they don’t have the competition.
All one has to do is read the documents and decide for yourself who is lying! And this site does not lie! We expose the lies and hypocrisy.
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