Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association

National Headquarters:  1 NW OOIDA Drive, Grain Valley, MO  64029

Tel:  (816) 229-5791  Fax:  (816) 427-4468

Washington Office:   122 C Street NW, Washington, DC  20001

Tel:  (202) 347-2007  Fax:  (202) 347-2008

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Norita Taylor

May 1 , 2007
(800) 444-5791
norita_taylor@ooida.com

(Grain Valley, MO, May 15, 2007) – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has announced another step up the ladder of victory in the battle for the safety and security of U.S. highways. A bill designed to expose faulty, reckless gaps in an impending cross-border program was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives today 411 to 3. The “Safe American Roads Act of 2007” will implement measures to ensure the U.S. Department of Transportation does not risk national safety and security by allowing Mexico-domiciled trucking companies full access to U.S. highways.

“This bill will inject some sanity into a program that still has far too many questions that have not been answered,” said OOIDA Executive Vice President, Todd Spencer. “The DOT has provided nothing but rhetoric when asked exactly how it will implement this program.”

The bill is designed to address serious safety and security issues and afford the public an opportunity to review the DOT’s claims that they have met all requirements as outlined in Section 350 of the 2002 transportation appropriations legislation.

“Today’s successful vote is credited to our members and the public for speaking up to their representatives,” added Spencer. “They know a sham when they see it.”

The Association’s stand is that U.S. borders should not open wider to trucks from Mexico until their safety systems are truly compatible and our enforcement officials have the means to enforce U.S. laws.

“Not just at the border, but in all 48 states where these trucks will run,” added Spencer. “Truckers, and all U.S. citizens, deserve that from our nation’s highest commercial vehicle safety agency.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the 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 152,000 members from all 50 states and Canada.