Ignoring n Safety ...and the law
The Problem
The Bush DOT is rushing on with a “pilot project� giving Mexico-based trucking companies full access to U.S. roads, even though...
We can’t be sure the trucks are safe.
DOT says it will just rely on statements from Mexico-based carriers that their trucks meet U.S. safety standards ...
... even though U.S. law tells DOT to rely on the truck maker, not the trucking company, for that certification.
And DOT is just assuming all trucks used by Mexicobased companies that were made after 1996 meet U.S. standards ...
... even though data show that 20% of such trucks do not meet minimum safety standards ...
... and, to make matters worse, there is no reliable method to verify the date of manufacture in the first place.
We can’t be sure the drivers are safe.
There’s still no driver drug testing lab in Mexico meeting U.S. standards, and no way to stop tired truckers at the border.
We don’t know enough crucial data.
How do you know if a driver claiming to participate in the pilot program is even allowed to drive at all? Odds are, you can’t!
Border officials can check a Mexican database, but more than 15% of the time the records are wholly missing from it...
... and state highway patrol officers pulling drivers over don’t have access at all.
Oh, yeah... Congress ordered DOT to stop!
Congress passed a law denying funds to “establish� a pilot program... but DOT is playing word games instead of following the law!
Tell Congress that the Bush DOT is playing games with our safety! Visit action.citizen.org today and speak out!