.

Fiction: The Mexican truck pilot project meets all the legal requirements.

"We feel like we have met the requirements," said John H. Hill, who oversees the program as administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (Copley News Service, Aug. 31, 2007.)

Fact: The program breaks at least seven laws. It is illegal.

1. The law (49 U.S.C. 31315c) says that FMCSA pilot programs can't go forward unless "The safety measures in the project are designed to achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety that would otherwise be achieved."
   
   The safety measures for Mexican trucks and drivers are lower than the level of safety that U.S. trucks and drivers must achieve. FMCSA has even acknowledged that there are differences between U.S. and Mexican safety laws, including commercial drivers' license requirements, medical requirements, hours of service requirements and drug-testing procedures. (72 Federal Register notice 46263, Aug. 17, 2007).
   
   Mexican drivers don't lose their commercial drivers licenses if they're convicted for crimes in their own vehicles, as are U.S. drivers.
   
   Mexican drivers do not have mandatory safety training, as do U.S. drivers.
   
   Mexican drivers are not required to comply with U.S. hours-of-service laws while operating in Mexico, so a Mexican driver could drive 10 hours in Mexico and then another 11 hours in the U.S.
   
   There are no certified drug-testing laboratories in Mexico. Mexican drivers do not have to meet U.S. standards for pre-employment drug testing as do U.S. drivers.



2. The law requires FMCSA to demonstrate that it will provide statistically valid data about how cross-border trucking will work in practice (U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007, Public Law 110-28, Section 6901).
   
   FMCSA doesn't even know how many trucks from Mexico will participate in the program (72 Federal Register 31877, June 8, 2007.)
   
   FMCSA has never demonstrated how letting a handful of clean, safe Mexican trucks onto U.S. highways will prove scientifically that opening the border to commercial vehicles from Mexico won't harm highway safety in the long run.
   
   
3. The law (2007 Troop Readiness Act) requires the inspector general to submit a report to Congress "verifying compliance with each of the requirements" before the program can start. One requirement is that the states must be able to inspect Mexican trucks and enforce highway safety laws during the pilot program. According to the Sept. 6, 2007 inspector general report, five states said they are not ready. According to the same report, seven states are not prepared to enforce point-to-point delivery restrictions.
   
   
4. The law (2007 Troop Readiness Act) requires any FMCSA pilot program to include a proper oversight plan. The inspector general report dated Sept. 6 states "FMCSA has not developed and implemented complete, coordinated plans for checking trucks and drivers participating in the demonstration project as they cross the border."
   
   
5. The law (49 U.S.C. 30112 and 30115) requires motor vehicles entering the United States to display a certificate from a dealer or a manufacturer that the vehicle complies with U.S. safety standards. FMCSA unlawfully says Mexican truck companies can break that law by certifying themselves (72 Federal Register 462755).



6. The law (2007 Troop Readiness Act) requires the inspector general to verify that FMCSA has enough inspectors to make sure that all commercial vehicles can be inspected at border crossings. The Aug. 6, 2007 inspector general report states that at one high-volume crossing, "physical space and capacity limitations prevented inspections during high-volume holiday periods. This means that Mexican buses granted long-haul operating authority in the United States may not be inspected during busy periods."



7. The law forbids federal agencies from spending money without Congress's permission. The Anti-Deficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. § 1341(a)(1)(A), states "Making or authorizing an expenditure from, or creating or authorizing an obligation under, any appropriation or fund in excess of the amount available in the appropriation or fund unless authorized by law." An officer or employee who breaks the law "shall be subject to appropriate administrative discipline including, when circumstances warrant, suspension from duty without pay or removal from office." 31 U.S.C. §§ 1349(a), 1518.
   
   
   • In addition, an officer or employee who "knowingly and willfully" violates any of the three provisions cited above "shall be fined not more than $5,000, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both." 31 U.S.C. §§ 1350, 1519.

Fiction: Mexican trucks and truck drivers must meet the same or higher safety standards than U.S. trucks and truck drivers.

• Trucks from Mexico "are the most vetted, the most scrutinized and the most inspected trucks on American roads today." (Melissa DeLaney, FMCSA spokeswoman, to McClatchy newspapers, Jan. 3, 2008.)



• Checks on Mexican companies, vehicles and drivers are identical to, and in some instances more stringent than, those of their U.S. counterparts. (FMCSA press release, September 24, 2007.)

Fact: U.S. trucks and truck drivers face tougher safety standards than trucks and truck drivers from Mexico.

• U.S. trucks must have antilock brake systems; Mexican trucks do not.
  
  
• U.S. truck drivers must have pre-employment safety training and drug testing from a certified lab; Mexican truck drivers do not.
  
  
• U.S. truck drivers lose their commercial licenses if they're convicted of a serious traffic violation in their personal vehicle; Mexican truck drivers do not.
  
  
• U.S. truck drivers have to stop driving after 11 hours; Mexican truck drivers can drive for 10 hours in Mexico and then another 11 in the U.S.
  
  
• U.S. truck driver must meet stiffer physical qualifications than Mexican drivers.

Fiction: Every truck will be inspected every time it crosses the border.

"They will inspect every Mexican truck every time it goes across the border, which is more than they do for American trucks," said the spokesman, Clayton Boyce. (New York Times, Sept. 9, 2007.)

Fact: The trucks will not be inspected every time.

They will receive a cursory glance at a safety decal and drivers may have their drivers' licenses checked. Both can be falsified. The agency stated (Federal Register, June 5, 2007, p. 31882) that "When crossing the border these trucks will, at a minimum, be checked to verify that the driver is properly licensed and that the vehicle displays a current CVSA inspection decal."