Posted on 08/26/2007 10:57:58 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
A commercial truck driver from Monterrey who has crossed Laredos international bridges countless times was stunned earlier this month when he received a ticket from U.S. inspectors because he cant speak English."We were worried," said Samuel Tamez Treviño, owner of the truck that was driven by Rafael Segovia. "We consulted with attorneys. We were somewhat relieved when they told us it would be treated as a warning. But now what are we supposed to do?"
Tamez Treviño, whose transportation company is in Montemorelos, is concerned that his drivers may be unable or unwilling to learn English, considering that even a short, intense course to learn the basics can take five months.
Segovia, who was back home and unavailable for comment, was handed the citation on Aug. 2 at about 4:45 p.m. at the Colombia-Solidarity International Bridge. He also was cited for having non-working brake lights and a leaky hydraulic hose, which are fairly routine violations.
Tamez Treviño said hes never heard of any law requiring that his drivers know English. Many company owners dont speak English, let alone their workers, many of whom dont even have a high school education.
The law requiring that Mexican truckers coming into the United States speak English has been on the books for years, but it has taken on renewed significance with the coming implementation of a new provision that will allow up to 100 Mexican carriers to go beyond the border zone. It also will allow up to 100 U.S. carriers to go deep into Mexico with their loads.
While many international trade supporters praise the move as long overdue and a natural outgrowth of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the plan has many critics, including labor leaders and some U.S. transportation companies who fear the Mexican trucks will be unsafe and create unnecessary risks on U.S. highways.
Nevertheless, a demonstration project is set to begin within a few weeks, allowing Mexican carriers that have passed the required safety audit to take their trucks onto U.S. roads.
Mexican truckers have their own complaints.
"Theyre already bothering us in the United States and it hasnt even started," said Luis Moreno Sesma, president of the Nuevo Laredo branch of Canacar, a national association of transportation company owners. "Its not fair to require English in the commercial (border) zone."
Federal transportation officials in Laredo declined to comment, but a spokeswoman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in Washington said truck drivers who are working only in the border commercial zone may be found in violation of the law for not being able to communicate in English but wont be stopped from crossing.
Those truck drivers who are headed past the border commercial zone, however, will not be allowed to continue their trip if they cant speak English, the spokeswoman said.
"The Mexican drivers may receive citations," said the spokeswoman, who declined to give her name, "but that doesnt mean they have to stop working."
Asked why the Mexican drivers werent given notice about the plan to start enforcing the law, the spokeswoman said Mexican authorities have been fully aware of the plan for some time. The Ministry of Communications and Transportation was involved in creating the demonstration program thats set to start soon.
"Whether the Mexican government has or has not informed the drivers about this law, well, thats something we cant answer for them," she said.
For his part, Moreno Sesma said transportation company owners should form an alliance to seek help from Tamaulipas Gov. Eugenio Hernández Flores.
The leader said he can see the need for drivers heading into the U.S. interior to know English, but insisted that regulation shouldnt apply to those who only drive in the border commercial zone.
(To reach Miguel Timoshenkov call 728-2583 or timo1@lmtonline.com. Laredo Morning Times staffer Norma Mendiola contributed to this report.)
>>“Commercial drivers are driving down the road in an 80,000-pound rocket full of gasoline,” said St. Onge, R-Ellisville.<<
Don’t say that! They are going to want a pay raise and then the price of everything will go through the roof. Can you imagine the cost if a drivers pay was doubled? Lettuce would cost at least 2 cents more. Well, a penny for sure.
They do stop them there for weight and other vehicle code checks, but I was refering to a speed issue.
Good point about the checks though. Still, if a truck only operates within LA or another suburban area, there are no check points. Generally the truck stop areas are outside the major metropolitan centers.
I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see this law changed to one requiring all Americans to learn Spanish instead.
They do stop them there for weight and other vehicle code checks, but I was refering to a speed issue.
Do they still have that huge sign with the Mexican woman and 3 trailing kids in tow just a couple of miles before the checkpoint? Is this because some vehicles full of aliens have second thoughts about trying to fake their way across and they dump them on the side of the road?
I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see this law changed to one requiring all Americans to learn Spanish instead.
I recently retired from the County of San Diego and you were starting to see more and more job descriptions/applications REQUIRING that the applicant be fluent in Spanish. Well, duh..........Health and Human Services and many more County Agencies are catering to the illegal population which is English illiterate.
Is there also a law in Laredo forbidding the use of apostrophes?
Can’t, don’t, they’re were ALL missing the apostrophe. I think there’s an editor in need of a remedial course in punctuation, let alone the author of the article.
No, it’s because people sometimes try to cross the freeway. Think of it like the Deer signs.
How the hell can they learn our traffic laws if they dont understand simple commands?
No, it’s because people sometimes try to cross the freeway. Think of it like the Deer signs.
But WHY are people trying to cross the freeway in the middle of nowhere in the Camp Pendleton area? And why would a woman with 3 small children?
time they learned
We just need to keep the trucks out.
Perhaps when they try to avoid immigration services. I don’t know. As for the woman and kids, it’s likely targeted to draw more attention than a man and woman would.
A car/truck is pulled over. Out pour the illegals. Some may bolt into traffic to avoid capture.
Airplane pilots must read, speak, write, and understand the English language.
Sounds fair to me. Traffic accidents kill more people than plane crashes.
Geez, that’d be funny except it’s not, LOL.
People can no longer speak the truth!
“Health and Human Services and many more County Agencies are catering to the illegal population which is English illiterate.”
Of course they have — modern American Government at all levels wants nothing more than to surrender to whatever foreign force wants to occupy the country, be they Muslims or Mexicans. Anybody is preferable to Americans.
To learn all the English is not needed. Some simple phrases memorized should do the trick.
Example:
Weight station ahead, all trucks must stop
All traffic merge right
Stop or I’ll shoot.
I like that last one best of all.
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