GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. – April 3, 2009  –  The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the largest national association representing professional truckers, has asked a federal court for a ruling on the association’s legal challenge to the Mexican trucking pilot program.

Jim Johnston, President of OOIDA, said, “We want to make sure that the exceptions granted by the Bush administration are ruled as illegal and considered invalid so they do not get used again in future programs allowing Mexican trucks to operate throughout the United States.”

In a letter to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, OOIDA argued that unless a ruling is handed down on the lawfulness of that program, then the government could use invalid data to support a more expansive cross-border trucking program.  The Association contends that the previous U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary had unlawfully granted Mexico-based motor carriers exceptions to following U.S. safety regulations.   

The court had asked the parties of the lawsuit to file short briefs about the effect on the litigation of Congress’s action to pull funding for the pilot program.  Other parties to the suit, including the Teamsters and Sierra Club, told the court that this Congressional action, and the DOT’s subsequent termination of the pilot program, rendered the legal action “moot” - no longer requiring a decision by the court.

However, OOIDA disagrees, believing that the issue is still relevant and a decision from the court could benefit future programs by setting standards for safety and security.

Johnston referred to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which says the United States was not required to make exceptions for safety and security. “Those exceptions should never have been made and Mexico should be expected to raise its standards before its trucks are allowed full access to all our highways.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the largest national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, Mo. area. The Association currently has more than 160,000 members from all 50 states and Canada.

###