Thursday, August 30, 2007

Stay off the highways...

...especially Los Angeles highways.

Starting this Saturday, Mexican trucks will have free access to all highways in the United States. You may all now turn toward Washington, DC and say "Gracias, Senor Jorge Bush" for that.

Oh, his trained seals at the Department of Transportation have "certified" that all the Mexican trucks will be perfectly safe. They'll be inspected, and the drivers will have to follow all the rules.

Hell, it'll be every bit as safe as Chinese pet food, toothpaste and toys!

We're supposed to love this, amigos. By putting American truck drivers and trucking companies out of work, we'll all pay lower prices for our goods.

This is called a "pilot program" dealing with a mere 100 Mexican companies. At least for the first week or so. Of course that doesn't mean 100 independent operators with single rigs; if these 100 have an average fleet as small as 50 rigs each, that means there will be 5000 trucks, most of which are not maintained to the same standards we insist on here, are driven by untrained drivers.

Since we can't sue the government, the cost of the carnage we can expect on the roads will be borne by individuals and insurance companies. Our insurance companies.

And then there's the latest bonehead order given the Los Angeles Police Department by the pro-illegal losers in the city council. California's vehicle code mandates that cars driven by unlicensed drivers -- most of whom are illegals -- are to be impounded.

Not any longer. The cops are now directed to write the miscreant a ticket, see that the car is safely parked, and hand the keys back to Senor Illegal Driver.

The two council members who were most vocal in favor of this new "policy" -- my own district's Janice Hahn, who will pander to any group if she thinks there's a vote in it, and one Jose Huizar -- both claim this law is "unfair to the poor and the undocumented."

So now you can break the law if you're poor and/or already a lawbreaker.

Between the illegal drivers in LA and the incoming dangerous rash of Mexican truckers*, it's time to give up driving, folks.

* Which already began some time ago. For the past six months or more, I've seen Mexican-registered big rigs in the LA area, despite the "official" 20-miles-from-the-border limit.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Mexican delivery you know is better than the Chinese one you don't know?

Better to smuggle in illegals, drugs, and terrorists than lead painted toys?

What could possibly go wrong?

MrScribbler said...

Damned if I know, t-e!

Anonymous said...

The day of reckoning is coming, friend. Some day, sadly, we're going to have a giant explosion of frustrations between the have's and the have not's, between the legals and the illegals, and perhaps between the religions and cultures and races, too. It's gonna be ugly. Why can't we just set ONE set of fair rules and insist EVERYONE follow them? Do ANY politicians have the BALLS to do what's right????

MrScribbler said...

l&s -- our government has long ago ceased to act. Instead, it reacts. I'm afraid we may have to wait for the explosion.

Anonymous said...

Well, not to sound arrogant or egotistical, but mark my words: if this law actually goes through and isn't stopped by an injunction somewhere, and this Mexican TRASH starts travelling our highways, EXPECT to see violence. American truckers, and especially owner-operators and union, won't just sit around seeing their livelihood go to s***. This is one thing the feds should not have fooled with - the ending result will not be worth - whatever - advantage. Just what advantage, btw, is this going to have for Americans? I can see ALL kinds of things that will be advantageous for Mexicans, but is there ANY benefit, in the long run for Americans? NOT.
I will say this again as well: The main highway going south of Nogales in Mexico - their version of a "modern highway" - had weigh stations set up at various and regular intervals. I never saw them in action, I only saw them in various states of ruin.
The problem? Mexican truckers wouldn't stop at them. They would just blow by them, they would ALL just blow by them to the point that the government just shut them down.

Now, as an American trucker, I can tell you, if an American trucker blows by a scale-house in America, you WILL be chased down by a State Trooper and you WILL be in BIG trouble. WHAT is going to happen to these Mexicans if THEY do this? What happens when they kill a family on vacation in an SUV? What happens to our economy? WHAT happens?
benb

MrScribbler said...

Ben -- I was hoping you'd weigh in. You have the experience to know what's what.

I suspect the official position on any violations by Mexican truckers will be to ignore them. Nonexistent/fake papers? Cut 'em a break. Rotten equipment? We need to help them earn a living, so don't make a fuss....

Until Bush and the entire open-border culture (which includes Democrats, too) is removed from power, we are in danger.

John0 Juanderlust said...

I don't get it. Whatever the motives, the influence of citizens is not there any more. The government is a totalitarian regime in disguise, and it won't matter if republican or dem is in charge. They even have their plan in place that lets the trucks fast track across the border, not having to endure the scrutiny of regular travelers.
I think l&s and Ben are right, it may get ugly.

Anonymous said...

The TEamsters asked for an emergency injunction to prevent this. According to what I read earlier they are going on the premise that the government cannot verify the records of the drivers and contents etc...etc...

A sad day for America. If Jorge has his way there will be NO America, just a "United North America."