Dear Friends,
"The report said that a "direct correlation" exists between the condition
of Mexican trucks entering U.S. commercial zones and the amount of
inspection resources at the border. With the best inspection practices,
the condition of trucks entering California are "much better" than those
entering other border states...................Mexican trucks entering
through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas are unlikely to face inspection
since those states do not have enough inspectors on duty during all
commercial hours......."
Not only are these trucks dangerous to innocent American drivers, but
who knows what these massive boxcars have hidden inside them?
FTC-Linda
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Daily Report For Executives
Tuesday, January 05, 1999
Few Mexican Trucks Face Inspection, DOT Inspector General Report
Charges
A Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General report has
found that "far too few trucks" are being inspected at the U.S.-Mexico
border, with the exception of California.
"At one crossing in El Paso, Texas, which receives an average of 1,300
trucks daily, only one inspector is on duty and he can inspect only 10
to 14 trucks daily. At other crossings, there are times when there is no
inspector at all," according to a memorandum accompanying the report.
Of the trucks inspected, almost half do not comply with U.S. safety
standards, the report, released on DOT's web site Jan. 4, found. The
report said that 44 percent of inspected trucks from Mexico were turned
away because of safety violations.
The report addressed the Federal Highway Administration's programs to
ensure the safety of commercial trucks entering the United States from
Mexico and Canada. It focused on plans to implement North American
Free Trade Agreement provisions on cross-border trucking with Mexico.
Mexican trucks are currently limited to operate in designated
commercial zones, which generally encompass areas extending up to
20 miles north of U.S. border cities. In December 1995, the United
States put on hold trucking applications from Mexican carriers seeking
to operate freely in U.S. border states pursuant to NAFTA provisions.
The United States has conducted discussions with Mexico on highway
safety rules but the dispute remains unresolved. Under NAFTA,
commercial trucks should be able to travel the interiors of the three
NAFTA countries by Jan. 1, 2000.
More Inspectors Urged
Actions being undertaken to prepare for the opening of the U.S.-Mexico
border to Mexican long-haul trucks do not provide "reasonable
assurance" that the trucks will comply with U.S. safety standards, the
report stated.
"With the exception of California, neither FHWA's nor the States' plans
provide for an adequate presence of inspectors at border crossings for
trucks currently operating in the commercial zones ... A more robust
border inspection presence is needed, at least in the near term, to both
encourage and reinforce the importance of Mexican efforts to establish
its own safety oversight program," the report said.
FMWA, the report continued, was looking to the states to provide
needed inspectors rather than providing federal resources. The border
states, except for California, failed to provide enough inspectors at
border crossings but looked to the federal government to provide
inspectors, it added.
The report said that a "direct correlation" exists between the condition of
Mexican trucks entering U.S. commercial zones and the amount of
inspection resources at the border. With the best inspection practices,
the condition of trucks entering California are "much better" than those
entering other border states, the report said.
Mexican trucks entering through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas are
unlikely to face inspection since those states do not have enough
inspectors on duty during all commercial hours.
The report recommended several alternatives for increasing the number
of inspectors at the border, with costs ranging from about $3 million to
about $7 million. Because of inconsistencies in approaches, FHWA
needs a NAFTA program director to oversee an effective cross-border
traffic management program, the report urged.
Better coordination is also called for among the federal entities
monitoring border activities, the report urged. "Visits to a border
crossing clearly show considerable vehicle congestion. Multiple Federal
and State agencies have jurisdiction over a variety of border-crossing
issues and differing inspection responsibilities, which need to be
balanced with the expeditious movement of traffic," the report said.
Another recommendation made by the report was the establishment of
a federal interagency group to coordinate border issues.
"Although views differ about whether a 44 percent out-of-service rate for
Mexican trucks is statistically representative of the universe of Mexican
trucks that are noncompliant, there currently is no other measure to use
as a frame of reference; nearly all agree that the number of trucks
currently crossing the border in a noncompliant condition is
unacceptably high," the report said.
The report said that changes are not warranted at the U.S.-Canada
border.
The report can be accessed on the DOT's website at:
www.dot.gov.oig/audits/
Copyright (c) 1999 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington
D.C.
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