Parting Shots on NAFTA : A 65-m.p.h. Hijacking : An ‘understanding’ would exempt Mexican truckers from U.S. safety rules and open our roads to really big rigs.

The Teamsters Union is against the North American Free Trade Agreement, like a lot of labor unions for a lot of reasons, one of which should be of special concern to Californians: Mexican trucking companies will be allowed to operate anywhere in the United States, but without having to comply with U.S. or state trucking regulations.

The pressures being put forth to pass NAFTA have been applied for quite some time. To grease the skids for the agreement, in November, 1991, the U.S. secretary of transportation and his Mexican counterpart signed a “memorandum of understanding” that recognized the Mexican federal commercial driver’s license as equivalent to the U.S. license. This memorandum has the effect of superseding U.S. law.

These Mexican drivers will be competing for freight jobs with U.S. citizens who earn $100 a day or more. The Mexican drivers earn around $10 a day. U.S. trucking firms have to comply with safety laws and maintain equipment; Mexican trucking employers don’t. This will tell you who will be losing jobs and who will be gaining jobs.

Drivers here are subject to a lot of regulation, most of which is designed to ensure professionalism on the road and protect citizens. Drivers undergo mandatory training, strict licensing, physical examinations, mandatory drug testing and specialized hazardous materials training. Drivers from Mexico barreling down our highways atop 80,000 pounds of freight or chemicals take only a written exam and can drive anything. Do you feel safe with these kinds of drivers behind you at 65 m.p.h.?

Here, drivers who are a hazard are pulled off the road, thanks to a nationwide commercial computer linkup system. If a driver from Mexico is arrested, there is no practical way a U.S. court can suspend his license or force payment of a fine.

Until now, states have regulated the size of trucking rigs on their roads. California limits trucks to two trailers. Under NAFTA’s “harmonization” provisions, longer combinations and heavier vehicles (triple trailers weighing up to 105,000 pounds) may be allowed to operate in California even though we have banned them.

And, God forbid, if someone is injured by a commercial driver from Mexico, it appears that the injured party will have to sue the Mexican company in a Mexican court.

If NAFTA passes, citizens who feel relatively safe in their cars and walking their roadways will be enjoying a false sense of personal security and safety.