What happens when you have an administration that cares more about the free market than regulatory oversight?

Poison spinach, toothpaste and pet food, lead in our kids’ toys, mortgage lending run amok and now unsafe trucks on our highways.

The Teamsters biggest argument against the Department of Transportation’s dangerous Mexican Truck "pilot program" has always been about safety. The counter argument by supporters of this sham has been: "but the trucks are closely inspected and the companies are all thoroughly checked."

Oh yeah?

What about Trinity Industries de Mexico? Until a few weeks ago, this company and its 16 trucks were approved to operate on U.S. roads by Mary Peters’ inspectors.

According to Teamster.org, the company pulled out of the program on Feb. 1, after it was discovered that Trinity received 1,123 safety violations in the year before the border was opened, or 112 violations per vehicle.

Trinity drivers and trucks were put out of service 75 times, but according to the criteria used by the Transportation Department they should have received another 476 out-of-service orders.

Federal law defines out-of-service violations as conditions "where an imminent hazard" is present. "Imminent hazard" is defined by federal law as "any condition of vehicle, employee or commercial motor vehicle operations which substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death if not discontinued immediately."

"Mary Peters has some explaining to do," said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters general president. "She claimed that she only opened the border to Mexican trucks after they passed rigorous safety inspections. Now we learn that Trinity Industries averaged 112 safety violations per truck -- according to the Transportation Department’s own statistics -- in the year before it was allowed to use American highways."

Hoffa questioned whether it was a coincidence that Trinity dropped out of the pilot program shortly after a declaration was made to the federal court about the company’s many serious safety violations.

The Teamsters, Public Citizen, the Sierra Club and the Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association are challenging the legality of the cross-border pilot program in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Oral arguments will be heard on February 12.