Washington,
DC, September 7, 2007. The Cullen
Law Firm, PLLC, filed a petition today on behalf
of the, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
(a.k.a. OOIDA) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia challenging the September 6,
2007, decision of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (AFMCSA@), part of the Department
of Transportation, to proceed with a program that
would authorize up to 100 trucking companies based
in Mexico to perform long-haul operations within
the United States, beyond the current commercial
zone at the border. The basis of OOIDA's
challenge is that FMCSA has not followed Congressional
directives to implement its Mexican Truck initiatives
as a pilot program and has ignored important substantive
and procedural rights of professional truck drivers
in this country.
An Act of Congress signed into law on May 25, 2007,
prohibited FMCSA from opening the border to Mexican
truck unless it first conducted a Apilot program.@ By
regulation, pilot programs must ensure that Athe
safety measures in the project are designed to achieve
a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater
than, the level of safety@ otherwise required by
the FMCSA. The pilot program also requires
that the FMCSA also give the public the opportunity
to comment on the results of the program. FMCSA
ignored all of these requirements in implementing
its Mexican truck program. OOIDA's petition
asks the Court to enjoin the agency's action and
follow the proper procedures before it opens the
border to Mexican trucks.
OOIDA has asked the DC Circuit to rule on its emergency
motion with 14 days.
For a copy of the complaint in PDF Format click
here. |
