Mexican Truck Access To U.S. Roads Blasted

Dozens of truckers waved signs and U.S. flags at border crossings in Laredo, Texas, and San Diego protesting a program that will allow up to 100 Mexican trucking companies to freely haul their cargo anywhere in the United States, denouncing the plan as dangerous and unfair.

As of Thursday morning, 38 Mexican firms were poised for U.S. permits, said Melissa Mazzella DeLaney, a spokeswoman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates truck safety.

The U.S. Transportation Department was expected to begin issuing operating permits in the program as early as Thursday.

The Teamsters Union, Sierra Club and nonprofit group Public Citizen sued to try to stop the program, arguing there won't be enough oversight of the drivers and their trucks entering the United States from Mexico. But a federal appeals court ruled last week that the Bush administration could move ahead.

Government lawyers said the program was a necessary part of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the trucks enrolled in the program would meet U.S. regulations.

NAFTA requires that all roads in the United States, Mexico and Canada be opened to carriers from all three countries. Canadian trucking companies already have full access to U.S. roads, but since 1982, Mexican trucks have been allowed to operate only within a 25-mile zone along the border. After that, they transfer loads to U.S. trucks to go elsewhere in the country.

Last year, Mexican trucks crossed the border to the U.S. about 4.5 million times, mostly through Texas.

The current pilot program is designed to study whether opening the U.S.-Mexico border to all trucks could be done safely. A bill to block the administration's program passed the House earlier this year by a vote of 411-3, but is awaiting action in the Senate.

"It's undermining our jobs, and it's undermining safety, as well as national security issues to have this going forward," protestor Patrick Kelly told CBS News.

"There are no means to regulate these guys. Bush has opened up highways to unsafe trucks," complained Teamsters organizer Hugo Flores. "I don't want them sharing the roads with my family."

Flores said the main concern is over the length of work shifts and drug testing.

"We'd have less concerns if they were working under the conditions we're working under," Flores said.

But even if that's possible, Flores said there are still concerns about job security and pollution from emissions.

"Now they're trying to export all our driving jobs to Mexico," Flores said. "That's one less American job."

Environmentalists have claimed that inspections of trucks already crossing the border have been lax, and that expanding Mexican trucks' access will increase health hazards even beyond the border region.

"Before providing unconditional access throughout the country to tens of thousands of big rigs we know little to nothing about, we must insure they meet safety and environmental standards," said Carl Pope, Executive Director of Sierra Club.

Carrying signs reading "NAFTA Kills" and "Unsafe Mexican Trucks," a few dozen protesters circled in the heat for two hours at a port of entry at the World Trade Bridge on the U.S.-Mexico border.

"What do we want? Safe highways. When do we want them? Now!" they chanted.

At a Petro truck stop near El Paso along Interstate 10, reactions to the program were mixed.

Carlos Moreno, who has been a truck driver for nearly four decades, said he doesn't begrudge anyone trying to make a living.

"There's enough for all of us," said Moreno, an El Paso resident.

But he is concerned that some of the drivers from Mexico won't be able to read highway signs written in English.

"The only thing that scares me is that they can't read," Moreno said. "You can always tell in construction zones."

Omar Nunez, a 34-year-old driver from Pecos, said he worries that freight prices will drop as shippers turn to Mexican trucking companies that may offer cheaper services.

"As it is, I'm barely making it right now," he said.

Oscar Rodriguez, who has driven 16 years for UPS, said he thinks law enforcement will be less vigilant about watching out for unsafe truckers the farther they travel into the country.

"As it is, we do have incidents with American trucks," said Rodriguez, of Laredo. "Who's regulating the Mexican truck drivers? They could drive 16 hours, popping pills. We don't know."

Near San Diego's Otay Mesa border crossing, dozens of truckers mixed with anti-illegal immigration activists, flashing signs that read, "NAFTA Kills" and "Save American Highways."

Business was uninterrupted, said Lt. Hector Paredes of the California Highway Patrol, which inspects about 3,000 trucks a day at the crossing.

"We're already inspecting Mexican trucks and will continue to inspect them the same way," Paredes said. "These trucks already haul product from Tijuana to San Diego. Now they will be able to go beyond San Diego."

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