Recently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released an announcement about extending a trucking pilot program. This particular program provides trucking jobs to Mexican owned and operated rigs. Why did FMCSA do this? Because they want to have one hundred Mexican trucking companies working American roads.

Letas be clear. This could kill the American trucking business. With cheaper alternatives available, local trucking jobs could disappear. How did this happen? Congress had not supported this plan. The Bush administration circumvented Congress by enacting this plan while Congress was in recess for the summer.

There are standards of safety and security that every American truck must meet. The FMCSA has decided that Mexican trucks do not have to meet these same standards. This gives the Mexican truckers an unfair advantage. It also places the American public in danger. After all, those safety and security standards have a reason! It is another source of contention between truckers and the FMSCA.

There is no denying that fuel costs are up and that this is destroying truck driversa profits. There is already a shortage of about 11,000 drivers in America and as the price of fuel continues to rise this shortage will continue to grow. The shortage will be felt most acutely on long-haul routes (like the Wal-Mart driving jobs) because of new economic realities.

Truckers feel that the way the FMCSA (and President Bush) have gone about supporting the plan to put Mexican truckers on American roads is wrong. It has largely been done in secret, or while no one could stop them (like enacting out while Congress was out of session). Why have they gone about it in this way? One theory is that the agency is trying to avoid the level of scrutiny that happened when the public found out about Dubai companies running U.S. ports.

Naturally, people associated with the trucking industry are calling their congressperson to found out information about this program. Congress, who opposed letting Mexican owned and operated trucks free access to American roads and trucking opportunities, is in a terrible position because they never voted on this issue! The FMCSA is not giving out any information about the program. They will not even return phone calls.

Senator Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota amended the Senate Transportation Appropriations Bill to stop the Mexican Truck Demonstration Program, but this has been ignored, and has lead to truckers frustrations with FMCSA and Bush. This wall of silence has helped keep the news quiet.

Independent truckers are still hoping that the issue will garner the attention that it deserves. With a general election mere months away, the Bush administration is frantically attempting to push through legislation while it still can, and at this point it’s a race against time.

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Many in the world are experiencing a slow economy and a decreased demand for goods and services. There are, however, certain job markets that are still booming due to a lack of skilled workers. The trucking business is a good example, for many parts of the world are currently experienced a severe shortage of experienced drivers.

The war-torn Middle East has been particularly affected by a dearth of drivers, primarily due to the possibility of being caught in a cross fire while driving down the street. Due to this, many first class driver jobs are remaining unfilled. Those looking for high paying work in this field can work this to their advantage.

Countries like Iraq are experiencing the most difficulty hiring drivers, and are, therefore, willing to pay the most money. Iraq has always had a shortage of drivers to fill the available positions, and with the current war, these positions have been even harder to fill.

Many Americanas have traveled to Iraq due to its high salary pay. Drivers can make well over the average pay in the United States. In fact, drivers find the pay to be so good that they can retire earlier than expected.

These truck driving jobs arenat for your everyday rookie. These are big time jobs. These are jobs that involve high risk and danger. Sometimes, these jobs could mean you lose your life. That is why the demand is for class a drivers and more experienced drivers.

The benefits of these driver shortages can be well worth the risks. Many companies are willing to pay top dollar for good drivers, and you would be working on a contract basis. The contract would be for a limited amount of time, so a permanent move to another country would not be necessary.

This can be a great opportunity, but make sure youare qualified for the position. There are many positions open because people previously holding the jobs have left due to inexperience. There are also, however, positions yet to be filled because many do not know of these great opportunities. You have to decide for yourself if the benefits outweigh the risks.

If you find you have the qualities then this is the opportunity for you. Why make your average salary when you can take advantage of a shortage, and be paid far greater from companies that need more drivers? Do your research. See if the job is contract based or permanent. After you assess your experience, go make the real money that is waiting for you.

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