Are Mexican Trucks a Threat?

Some folks out there, especially the unions and environmental types, are quite upset that the Bush Administration is allowing Mexican truckers to enter the U.S. and travel our highways. Is is really that big of a deal? This writer at NewsMax thinks it is:

Mexican trucks are rolling over the U.S. border, freely bound for anywhere in America, and it seems that nothing -- not furious Teamsters nor angry environmentalists, not even Congress -- can stop them.

Are the drivers properly licensed and sober or well-rested with the legal amount of down time? Do they speak English or understand U.S. road signs? Will the trucks be carrying illegal immigrants, drugs, terrorists, nuclear or biological weapons or other contraband? Will they belch tons of banned pollutants into America’s air? Will lower-paid Mexican drivers put American truckers out of work? Will the trucks gut the tax base which supports the U.S. highway infrastructure?

Frankly, no one knows. But, like it or not, the trucks are rolling. It’s a done deal.

When the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco denied an appeal from the Teamsters, the Sierra Club and other groups on Aug. 31, it opened the way for a “test program” pushed by the Bush administration to begin.

Initially, the Department of Transportation plans to allow 44 Mexican long-haul semis to participate in the first 30 days, but the program quickly will expand, to allow 100 Mexican trucking companies to send 1,000 trucks streaming across the border.

“This is a reprehensible proposal,” Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), told NewsMax.

In the past Mexican trucks were only allowed a few miles into the country before their loads had to be transferred to American carriers. You can understand why the Teamsters are upset about this - their members are losing business. However, some of the other complaints are silly.

For instance, the question as to whether the truckers speak English or can understand our road signs. Here in Southern California you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a driver who can't speak English, and to my knowledge it hasn't been that big of a problem.

I'm sure the Mexican trucks have to undergo some sort of inspection for mechanical roadworthiness, and by eliminating the tranfer to more expensive American carriers, it can't help but reduce the costs for goods coming in from Mexico.

At this point, I'm not sure I see the dangers the author of the article is seeing.