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Bush Proposes Opening Border to Mexican Trucks

Anyone who travels Texas roads knows how crowded the freeways are with big trucks. President Bush has recently decided to make the freeways more crowded, by allowing Mexican trucks access to all U.S. highways, roads, and bridges. During the Clinton administration, Mexican trucks were restricted to a 25-mile commercial zone immediately north of the border. President Bush has decided to ease that restriction. U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters made the annoucement in El Paso, Texas that starting in April, 100 Mexican trucking companies will be allowed to drive anywhere in the U.S. There are no restrictions on where they travel or how many trucks they operate. Opponents of the new trucking rules are concerned that the U.S. will lose jobs and that the trucks will cause more fatal and non-fatal truck accidents. They are also concerned about the risk of truckers bringing dangerous items, the trucks being uninspected or poorly maintained, and generally not complying with U.S. trucking regulations. U.S. truckers are required to follow strict safety guidelines, including work hour restrictions, maintenance requirements, age limits, and physical exams. The concern is that there is no way to ensure that non U.S. truckers and trucking companies follow the U.S. rules.

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