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Put the Brakes on Unsafe Mexican Trucks

Despite strong Congressional disapproval, the Bush administration and Department of Transportation have announced their plans to move forward with the Mexican cross-border trucking pilot program very soon. 

 

As a recent Transportation Department Inspector General audit report revealed, this dangerous pilot program still does not meet all the safety conditions required by Congress. The safety of millions of Americans traveling on U.S. highways will be put in danger if these unsafe Mexican trucks are allowed to cross the border.

 

In May, the House of Representatives passed HR 1773, the Safe American Roads Act of 2007, which blocks the program until safety measures are met. It passed 411-3. Today, the bill sits in a Senate committee.  

 

Tell your Senators to act now and stop this pilot program until the DOT can assure your safety.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Put the Brakes on Unsafe Mexican Trucks

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing to urge you to put a stop to the Bush administration and Department of Transportation's plans to recklessly move forward with the Mexican cross-border trucking pilot program. Congress has clearly outlined a number of safety requirements that must be met before the program would be allowed to continue.

In a recent audit report, the Transportation Department's Inspector General even noted that certain safety conditions have not been fulfilled as of yet and that the pilot program should not proceed until these conditions are met.

For example, the records kept by border states of Mexican truck drivers' history were found to be inadequate; a reported 40,000 traffic violations by Mexican truck drivers had not been entered into the State of Texas's database.

This Administration has chosen to completely disregard the law and to endanger the safety of so many Americans who would be traveling on our nation's highways with these unsafe Mexican trucks.

In May, the House of Representatives passed HR 1773, the Safe American Roads Act of 2007, which blocks the program until safety measures are met. It passed 411-3. Today, the bill sits in a Senate committee.

Act now to bring this measure up for a vote and stop this dangerous plan from moving forward.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
August 30, 2007


Background Information

If the Bush administration and Department of Transportation have their way, Mexican trucks could be allowed to cross the border and drive even further than the already allowed commercial zones very soon. However, several safety requirements mandated by Congress for the Mexican cross-border trucking pilot program still have not been met. In a recent audit report, the Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General found the following:

 

·      Inadequate records of Mexican truck drivers’ history; a reported 40,000 traffic violations by Mexican truck drivers have not been entered into the State of Texas’s database.

·      The questionable authenticity of many Mexican Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDLs); checks of the validity of Mexican CDLs within the Mexican database resulted in an almost 20 percent failure rate.

·      The government will not be able to inspect every truck coming into the U.S. due to a lack of full-time inspectors and a limitation of space at border crossing sites, especially during peak periods of travel.

·      There are still no certified drug and alcohol testing laboratories in Mexico. The quality of samples that are currently sent to U.S. laboratories is also questionable.

 

The Teamsters have filed a lawsuit against the Bush administration’s blatant disregard for the law, but we need your help too. Send an e-mail to your representative and senator and tell them to put a stop to the unsafe pilot program now!

 
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