Less than a month after the DOT’s Office of the Inspector General released a report saying that the data gathered by the cross-border pilot program was invalid and insufficient to make any claims about the safety of Mexican carriers driving in the United States, the DOT has decided to move ahead anyway and allow Mexican carriers to operate here in the US.
In direct conflict with the previous report, the FMCSA submitted their Mexican Trucking Pilot Program Report to Congress which says that the data collected during the program successfully demonstrated that Mexican motor carriers “can and do operate throughout the United States at a safety level equivalent to U.S and Canada domiciled motor carriers and consistent with the high safety standards that FMCSA imposes on all motor carriers authorized to operate in the United States.”
The FMCSA even acknowledges later on in their report that not only did the OIG say that the data was insufficient, but even the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) that was formed for the purpose of overseeing and monitoring the pilot program “expressed concerns about the data generated by the Pilot Program carriers.”
Neither the OIG nor the committee in charge of the pilot program thought that it was successful, yet the FMCSA concluded that they would allow not just those 13 carriers who were part of the program to continue, but any Mexican carriers who can qualify.
Carriers who wish to join the program will have to clear a pre-authorization safety audit and confirm that they have the proper safety management systems in place; including the ability to monitor hours-of-service compliance and drug testing. Additionally, all drivers must have either a United States commercial drivers license or the Mexican equivalent. Then for the first four years of their enrollment in the program, carriers must have all of their trucks clear a North American Standard Level I inspection every 90 days.
While there is no indication that this is the reason behind the DOT’s decision, letting Mexican carriers operate in the U.S. beyond the commercial border zone will end the $2 billion in yearly tariffs the U.S. pays to Mexico as a punishment for not meeting the requirements of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
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Source: fmcsa, fleetowner, overdrive, overdrive, forbes, reuters, ttnews, ttnews, utsandiego, todaystrucking
There goes the neighborhood…..As with anything our wonderful
Government does it’s always against what the people want, of course
the run amuck agencies and the big money lobbies rule the roost,
the industry will have to deal with one more issue. I don’t foresee
any improvement in trucking especially in the area of recruiting and retention of drivers
we are in the middle of a calculated dismantling of the American economy.
Pay the $2 billion. It will be cheaper in the long run.
We shouldn’t be paying them jack. But let’s see how many of their trucks get put out of service and or impounded. And the No Speaky English.
They always try to calm us by saying it is a two way agreement….we can take our trucks into Mexico. If any of you have ver taken your truck into Mexico, you know this is not true. They do NOT treat us with open arms upon arrival. You are in constant threat of having your equipment seized…if ONE piece of paper is missing or incorrect, they WILL impound your truck. Voice of experience….they had one of my lowboys for 6 months and it cost me more than $7,000 in Mexican attorney fees to get it back…all because a Mexican broker undervalued the cargo so they impounded my trailer along with the bull dozer. So now when anyone mentions going into Mexico, I just smile and say….”no thank you”. I wish it would go back the way it was….bring it to the border, put it on the truck from the country where it goes, and that’s it!!
why is it that nobody has a problem with any other foreigner except for Hispanics? I think this is a good thing. It’s not going to be any different than Canadians operating here. None of you have a problem with Canada. Nobody even wants to drive into Mexico. So this is good. Can you tell me what business sense it makes for the United States to pay 2 billion per year in taxes? I’m not sure how it would be cheaper. It’s so weird to me, if their products get into the states we will use them but have such a problem with Mexicans or any other Hispanic race. I think most truckers out here are just plain racist, ignorant, and uneducated.
Nafta is the problem. The rich are the problem. Paid off politicians are the problem.
This does hurt US drivers. The public is at risk too. If a mexican driver in a Mexican carrier’s truck kills someone, how do you think the civil remedies will be handled?
Hey Robert the public is already at risk!!! It doesn’t matter if your American, Canadian, Mexican, or European behind the wheel accidents are going to happen. Let them boys work its not like they are getting paid to do nothing. I don’t have a problem with them just as long as they follow the rules and speak English!!!
Well Bryan….get off the couch and get behind the wheel. It’s not just a problem with Hispanics. Ignorance and rudeness on the road is universal….I am not a racist by any means. The problem is with the number of trucks from Mexico already on the road here. I live in San Diego and see a steady stream of trucks coming in from Mexico. The CHP was told to not be so hard on the trucks coming in to make the program work. What about the trucks coming over full of fuel that they paid half what I did. What about drivers that make one fourth the wages that I pay? What about the 27% workers comp I pay that they don’t? Wonder why the rates don’t come up. So no, I’m not racist….I would just like to see a LEVEL playing field.
To me it’s not the people, but the goverment, ours and theirs. Why would we be paying them 2 billion. Why are we the 1’s that always pay. I bet their trucks and drivers get away with more crap here than we get away with here or down there.
Dalton, the Government doesn’t own those trucks,its people that own them .They are playing an equal part in whatever the problem may be . I don’t drive otr any longer so I don’t see the whole picture,but,I think Paul Goldstein has hit it right on the head.
At the risk of being seen as a conspiracy theorist, I think this is just another brick in the foundation of the North American Union. If, in the not too distant future, you reach into your pocket for a stack of ‘Ameros’ to pay your fuel bill, you’ll think back and say; “son of a beyotch, he was RIGHT!” Twenty years ago I managed a printing company who’s only customer was the US Govt. We won a bid to print an unusually large number of copies of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Rule Book… on pliable plastic pages (lasts FOREVER) and in Spanish: and we weren’t the only successful bidder. Just sayin’.
Well I guess they found a way to deal with the supposed driver shortage. I hope drivers don’t mind getting paid less…again.
Drivers never stick together..Never have…Never will…You have had 10-20 years to do something about this and …all that you ever want to do is undercut each other..
Big business sucks and victimizes everyone …But Drivers are by far their own worst enemy…
Race to the bottom we no longer live in a democracy we now live in a oligarchy the wealthy won’t be satisfied until all of us live in poverty and work for nothing I am retiring to Costa Rica and they can have this hell hole they call America
I dont see the problem if they have to follow the same rules we do then best of luck out there on the road. There is no indication that this will flood the market with drivers and I dont know if anyone noticed but three quarters of all the mexicans are already live here in LA and Bakersfield if they want to be truck drivers they can do it without speaking one word of english.
Welcome to Americo!
Why worry about it. The government in this country will do what ever it pleases. No matter what the people say about it or want even if it’s the majority. The true American no longer counts for squat. Until we take back our country and get rid of those who will see it destroyed we are a lost nation.
I may be wrong, but the only impact this will have is on the companies who do a lot of business with Mexico, such as Celadon, Swift, Pam, Werner, etc, anybody who has a large terminal in Laredo and El Paso. The big companies will have the Mexican companies haul their frieght for half the price their own drivers would be paid to do it. Since I haul chicken products in and around Ga, Sc, Nc, Al, Tn, Ms, doesnt affect me, but it’s still dirty and unAmerican.
about time América honerd the contract viva mexico
Well the hits just keep on coming! Over the years of running down along the Texas valley, I’ve seen some Mexican carriers equipment that would rival some of our country’s finest equipment. But those are few and far between and way outnumbered by the ones with ratty equipment. I see the trucks coming from Kalifornia manned up by immigrants that can hardly maintain control going in a straight line. With this new executive amnesty overreach, look for more of these men and women on the road and watch as the severity and number of highway collisions as well as fatalities skyrocket. Watch as our wages start back downward. Watch as rates fall. This is all for the benefit of the mega carriers and what few large corporations are left. As far as Canadian carriers, they have stringent rules as we have and most work hard to abide by them. It’s not a far stretch to see the Mexican drivers don’t give a rats ass about regulations, just look at their equipment. And boys and girls, as the highways get to be a battlefield, we’ll see more and more strangling regs from FMSCA come down hard on us, while that Mexican hauling a container with bald tires, half the lights burned out and an exhaust leak gets a free pass through the scale house. Go ahead libtards, call me a bigot or racist or whatever you idiots can think of, deep down you idiots know I’m right. Oh, and while you’re at it, take that race card and stick it where the sun don’t shine.