Injunction Overturned, Mexican Trucks Could Cross Border Thursday

Frosty Wooldridge Comments

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A last-ditch effort to block Mexican trucks from operating within the US has failed, and Mexican trucks could be on US roadways as early as Thursday.

Up to 100 Mexican trucking companies may be operating within the US by Thursday as part of a pilot project in the US. Five groups, including the Teamsters and Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) had filed an injunction to block the program, but it was unsuccessful.

“This is the wrong decision for American working men and women,” Teamsters general president James P. Hoffa said upon learning of the ruling. “We will now proceed to litigate this case on the merits. We believe this program clearly breaks the law. We will continue to fight for safety and national security in the courts and in Congress.” — TruckNews.com

Ensuring the Safety and Security of My Truck and Cargo

By Mark R. Taylor

In my twenty-plus-year career driving trucks across the 48 states, Canada and Iraq, I have seen fuel prices and taxes rise to new heights; I have seen regulations implemented by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that tell me when to sleep and when to drive; I have seen any number of changes that affect the trucking industry, good and bad. However, I have not seen anything that will cause irreparable harm to the American trucking industry like the Mexican Truck Pilot Program.

President Bush and the decision makers at the Department of Transportation (none of whom I believe has ever started the engine of a Freightliner, much less dealt with the daily routine of hauling freight), have opened our borders and highways to the Mexican trucking industry. Not 100 trucks – which might, on the surface, seem manageable from a homeland security standpoint – but 100 Mexican trucking companies operating an unknown number of trucks on our highways. (more…)