Mexico Sits Out Safety Hearing
LOS ANGELES — There were three national flags hanging behind the dais at the National Transportation Safety Board’s hearing on cross-border transportation Oct. 20, but only two of the governments represented by those flags actually showed up to participate. Conspicuous by its absence, Mexico chose not to join the United States and Canada in a public forum aimed at making sure that highway safety is taken into account when America’s southern border is opened to international truck traffic from Mexico, which could be as soon as Jan. 1.
Opinions varied on why Mexican Subsecretary of Transportation Aaron Dychter, whose name appeared on draft agendas for the meeting, chose not to come to Los Angeles. Some cited a Mexican law prohibiting public officials from testifying at proceedings in foreign countries, while one observer attributed Dychter’s absence to a reluctance to get “clobbered” for his country’s allegedly poor progress in improving motor carrier safety standards.
NTSB Chairman Jim Hall made no secret of his feelings about the empty chairs at Mexico’s table, referring to its absence several times in the course of the first day’s sessions.
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“For reasons they will be glad to elaborate on, they chose not to attend. I’m very disappointed [they didn’t come],” Hall said. “Anytime individuals or nations sit down to talk about what it’s going to take to save lives, it’s not a waste of time.”
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