Mexican truck pilot program still struggles

Dangerous Mexican trucks raise
concerns for Teamsters

Only a handful of Mexican trucks are traveling beyond the border zone as part of the two-year-old pilot program run by the U.S. Transportation Department. That's a big problem for the Department, as the law says enough trucks have to participate in order to form a valid judgment about the safety of Mexican trucks.

With a little over a year to go, the pilot program now has only 12 carriers with 44 trucks. More carriers have dropped out or were dismissed from the program – a total of 13 – than are currently participating.

The Teamsters nevertheless are continuing to question the safety of the Mexican truck pilot program. The union is currently reviewing its legal options. A federal court last week refused the Teamsters' appeal for a rehearing of their case seeking to shut down the Mexican truck pilot program.
 
According to the press release:

The Teamsters in June had asked for a rehearing on the decision in May by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The appeals panel upheld the legality of the program. 

The Teamsters argued a rehearing is necessary “because the panel’s dismissal of Petitioners’ claims … conflicts with decisions of this Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.” The court on Friday issued an amended decision that used an alternative basis for its ruling that Mexico-domiciled trucks do not have to comply with certain federal safety certification requirements.  Nothing in the amended decision suggests Mexican trucks are safe.

In May, the Teamsters found that dangerous Mexican trucks were allowed into the program and objected strongly to the federal government:

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa co-signed a letter to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) chief Anne Ferro accusing her of endangering the driving public.
The letter stated two Mexican carriers hid their dreadful safety records by creating a third company -- and didn't disclose that to the FMCSA in order to be admitted to the pilot program. Two other companies were allowed to continue in the pilot program despite less-than-satisfactory ratings in their safety compliance reviews. Finally, FMCSA promised it would review how its studying the pilot program. It did not.

Hoffa said at the time,

We’ve said all along that our concern about this program was ensuring that Mexican trucks and drivers meet our U.S. safety standards, and it’s clear that FMCSA has not been exercising the proper oversight to accomplish this goal.  It’s wrong and inexcusable to endanger the traveling public in this way.

We'll keep you posted on future developments.