Lax Oversight Hurting Pilot Program Involving Mexican Trucks, FMCSA Told

This story appears in the Sept. 10 print edition of Transport Topics.

The ongoing pilot program that allows approved Mexican fleets into the interior of the United States suffers from lax oversight that does not sufficiently ensure compliance with the program’s requirements, a federal auditor said in a report released last week.

Looking ahead, the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General also wrote that low participation among Mexican carriers means U.S. officials might not be able to judge accurately the safety of those carriers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s “oversight mechanisms did not ensure full compliance with pilot program requirements, and at the time of our review, it was still developing certain monitoring mechanisms,” the OIG wrote in the audit released Sept. 4.

The report, which Congress mandated when it set forth the Mexican truck program’s provisions, is the first audit of the program since border crossings began in October 2011. It follows an August 2011 report that found FMCSA was not yet ready to allow trucks across the border as required under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“Without clear procedures and quality assurance controls in place for its pre-authorization process . . .  FMCSA does not have adequate assurance that carriers have met requirements for participation in the pilot program,” the OIG said in the recent report.

In response, FMCSA said in a statement, “Safety is our first priority, and we will continue to look for ways to improve our program, which preserves safety and spurs economic growth through sufficient participation from safe Mexican carriers.”

The OIG’s report faulted FMCSA in a number of areas, including that agency officials twice allowed responses in Spanish for an English-language proficiency test.

Officials also approved audits for some carriers before they had assured that their drivers were properly licensed and tested for drugs and alcohol, the report said.

“While this error should not have occurred, it is not indicative of a systemic failure of process but as an isolated error noted in an observation of a single test,” FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro said of the drug testing issue in a letter to the OIG.

The report also said FMCSA lacks plans to periodically review program data, including hours-of-service information from electronic logging devices, auditors found.

In addition, the agency “has not completed full development of mechanisms for detecting cabotage,” the OIG said. Cabotage, or Mexican carriers transporting goods between two points in the United States, is prohibited.

When the OIG wrote its report, only four carriers had been given operating authority. Since then, two more have joined.

“The low participation in the pilot program puts FMCSA at risk of not meeting its goals for providing an adequate and representative sample of Mexico-domiciled carriers and inspections necessary to assess the impact on motor carrier safety,” the OIG said.

Concern over low participation is not new. FMCSA Associate Administrator Bill Quade has said that the agency was very concerned about participation levels. But he is confident that enough carriers will join by the time the pilot program ends in October 2014 (9-3, p. 28).

Following the report, FMCSA said it had revised its language testing instructions and retrained its staff on procedures, including verifying licenses. It has declined to implement an electronic system to detect cabotage, saying the low volume of carriers does not yet warrant it.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), a longtime foe of opening the border, harshly criticized the agency for what the OIG found in the report.

“From the start, two major concerns were driver qualifications and roadway safety. On these points, the program has failed to offer any assurances that drivers are suited for U.S. roads and highways,” Hunter — whose district almost reaches the Mexican border — said in a statement.

“There was nothing good to say about this program before it went into effect, and there’s nothing good to say about it now,” he added.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association found the program’s low participation to be an indication of failure.

“This report says what we’ve been saying all along, that there is no interest among carriers based solely in Mexico in operating in the United States,” said Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s executive vice president.