Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/36447
FEEDBACK WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT THE NATION’S DETERIORATING INFRASTRUCTURE? Problems with Mexican Truckers came across the article about the Mexico truck pilot [program] and think this is crazy. I’m sure they do not see the [average] Mexican driver. I have seen them in Laredo, Texas, and El Paso, Texas, and their equipment is substandard to what we have here and in Canada. I live in the Houston area and even here we have problems with the sub- standard equipment that is used by Mexican-owned companies. The equipment is not up to DOT standards. For example, tires have slick tread, trucks have straps hold- ing them together, and lights are out. The other day as I was driving home from work I had to dodge a driveshaft that came flying from under a poorly maintained truck and almost caused an accident. There are companies hiring Mex- icans who do no speak English, and that is a big problem here in Texas and surrounding states. These companies are paying substandard wages to them because they can get away with it and they have for years. I If they want to open the bor- ders for Mexican trucking, I would think they would educate them on the laws and regulations of the DOT (in English). This should be in a class, not just a handout. If they pass that, then give a road test (in English). Better yet, make them go to an American truck driving school and make Mexico pay for it. Now let’s get to the crime aspect 8 TRUCKERS NEWS AUGUST 2011 of this. We all know crime is bad in all border towns. Now expand that crime over the U.S. and Canada. The big picture is there are enough truckers driving in the U.S. and Canada now and new drivers get- ting into the field. We don’t have room for uneducated drivers. I believe that everyone needs a job and I believe that education is the key to make this work. Cynthia Kidder Channelview, Texas GET THE FACTS ABOUT MEXICAN TRUCKS I’ve been reading your magazine for years and it’s the same feedback: complaints about the government and Mexican trucks. The truth is, we are responsible for our elected officials. Mexican trucks? They think that all the trucks they see at the bor- der crossings are all the same (rag- gedy), which some of them are, but they pass DOT inspection in order to come across. How else would the American truck driver get his load? I have a relative in Mexico that owns his own trucking outfit with more than 400 trucks. I asked him if he was going to ship freight from Mexico into the United States in his own trucks. You know what his response was? “I have enough freight to move around here to keep me busy. Why would I want to go into the U.S.?” They are required by their Something needs to be fixed, for sure. — Aaron Brogdon Nashville, Ga. CRST They need to put more money into it and more time into it. They fix parks and stuff like that, but they don’t fix the roads. — Dan Kerry New Orleans, La. RWI They blame the bad roadways on the trucks because they wear them down, but they wouldn’t if they were built better. — Anthony Pruitt Brush, Ala. Houndstooth Logistics They need to fix California. — Gregory Harper Bath, N.C. Meadow Lark TODD DILLS