GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. – April 20, 2009 – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) expressed disappointment in response to a court ruling on cross-border trucking, but has faith that Congress will continue to place a high priority on the safety and well-being of the American public.

OOIDA contends the trucking pilot program had extended illegal, de facto exemptions to safety laws while allowing Mexico-based trucking companies and truck drivers to operate on highways throughout the United States.

“Our hope had been the court would still rule on the merits of arguments and evidence showing the pilot program was in direct violation of U.S. laws and regulations,” said OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer. 

“However, we are confident that Congress will continue to put the American public’s safety and well-being above the economic interests of multi-national corporations. Republicans and Democrats alike have voted during the last couple of years to uphold those values and they should continue to do so.”

Today, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the Association’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in connection with the cross border pilot program, saying it was moot because Congress recently ended the program.

In late March, OOIDA had asked for the court to rule on arguments related to the long-standing legal challenge to ensure that the DOT would not rely on flawed data from the terminated pilot program to evaluate or develop a new program. In response to OOIDA’s arguments, the Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted a brief to the court on April 2 stating that such action by the DOT could be contested in a challenge to a new program.

In its response, the DOJ also pointed out that the DOT is currently prohibited from establishing a new pilot program and it is permitted to “ . . .grant authority for cross-border long-haul operations only after completion of a successful pilot program and satisfaction of other procedural and substantive requirements.”

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

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Related documents.

Letter to Court from OOIDA

DOT-FMCSA- Brief