Groups Say Background Checks Should Cover Foreign Drivers

aising a potential obstacle to the Transportation Security Administration’s plans for background checks of hazardous-material drivers, some trucking groups have criticized the government for not similarly scrutinizing Mexican and Canadian drivers.

“With the exception of the transportation of certain explosives, the interim final rule is silent on the matter of cross-border operations under the control of Canadian and Mexican drivers,” Cliff Harvison, president of National Tank Truck Carriers, said in comments filed earlier this month.

Harvison’s comments were filed with TSA in response to the agency’s oft-delayed plan to use fingerprints to check the backgrounds of drivers seeking a hazmat endorsement for their commercial driver licenses.