OOIDA seeks review, emergency stay of border program
Todd Spencer
The Trucker Staff
9/7/2007
GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) reports it filed a petition today asking for a review of the Department of Transportation's cross-border trucking program, and a stay on the program pending that review, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
The association contends the DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, “in its zeal to open all U.S. highways to Mexico-domiciled trucks,” did not follow congressional directives and legal requirements.
“We believe we have a strong case against what is being called a pilot program, but is actually a stealthily implemented, pre-ordained plan to fully open our highways to Mexican trucks. This is all done in the name of global economics and cheap labor,” said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of OOIDA.
Specifically, the filing questions FMCSA’s failure to issue a “Notice of Final Determination” before initiating a pilot program.
Additionally, the petition for review objects to the program’s acceptance of driver physical examinations by Mexican doctors; accepting Mexican government regulations in lieu of FMCSA rules; that the “demonstration project” does not satisfy the Congressional mandate to proceed as a “pilot program;” and that the DOT has not sufficiently compared Mexican and U.S. requirements.
OOIDA also argues that the balance of interests “tilts strongly” in a favor a stay to protect the public.
“They [FMCSA] provide nothing more than conclusory statements on safety issues that have no support in the agency record,” the petition for review states.
OOIDA has asked the D.C. Circuit to rule on its emergency motion with 14 days.