The blurring of that line and drunk drivers are only two of a multitude of problems. Substandard and dangerous equipment make up the bulk of the problems. Then there is the problem of crimminal mexican drivers, dealing and smuggling drugs and people etc etc etc.
My mother called me from down by Laredo yesterday. She said she called the DOT about a Mexican truck that was going down the highway with one of the axles locked up on the trailer. The driver and his several passengers just kept on going.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration NAFTA Rules.
You should get Mom to do some "rolling reports" for us FReepers whilst on her travels
...She said she called the DOT about a Mexican truck that was going down the highway with one of the axles locked up on the trailer...
This sounds like a Texas shortcoming, and is part of the reason that I can't figure out why everyone is so hysterical over dangerous trucks, et al.
Does every state not have a motor carrier enforcement division of their state police? We do in IN, and those guys are all over trucks that even remotely appear to have violations.
I find it hard to believe that TX doesn't have a similar division/process in place. Sounds like those boys are fixing to get some overtime.
If they spend a little proactive time enforcing current DOT regs (even if only Texas', NM's, AZ's individual state DOT regs) and levying the fines that come with them (and they WIL impound/disable a truck that has dangerous safety violations), then companies that wish to use their trucks to ship within the US will figure out that they need new trucks or extensive repairs.