Sunday, 16 March 2008
Peters Testimony on Mexican Trucks Was Frightening

Hoffa Lauds Pryor, Dorgan for Standing Up for Safety and the Constitution
Washington, D.C. – Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said that Americans should be frightened by the Bush administration’s low regard for safety as it opens the border to dangerous trucks from Mexico.

For example, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) chief John Hill told reporters that a Mexican trucking company with a horrendous safety record didn’t have a history of serious violations before it was accepted into the pilot program. Hill spoke after his boss, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, testified before the Senate Commerce Committee on why she chose to ignore Congress and keep the program going.
According to the FMCSA’s own data, Trinity Industries de Mexico had 75 out-of-service orders and should have had another 476, according to its own standards, in the year preceding September 21, 2007. According to federal law, a truck or vehicle is placed out of service when an “imminent hazardâ€