FMCSA Initiates One Year Pilot Program Expanding U.S. Cross Border Trucking Operations with Mexico

Comments are due by May 31, 2007.

FMCSA sources state that there is currently no set date yet for this program to begin; it will begin when both Mexico and the U.S. are ready to issue operating authorities. (The U.S. is ready to issue, but Mexico is still finalizing an application form and procedures for use by interested U.S. motor carriers.)

The pilot program is part of FMCSA's implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) cross-border trucking provisions. The pilot will allow up to 100 Mexico-domiciled motor carriers to operate throughout the U.S. for one year. Up to 100 U.S.-domiciled motor carriers will be granted reciprocal rights to operate in Mexico for the same period.

Participating Mexican carriers and drivers will be required to comply with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations, including those concerned with motor carrier safety, customs, immigration, vehicle registration and taxation, and fuel taxation. The safety of the participating carriers will be tracked closely by FMCSA and its State partners, a joint U.S.-Mexico monitoring group, and an evaluation panel independent of the DOT. The resulting data will be considered carefully before further decisions are made concerning the implementation of the NAFTA trucking provisions.

(The pilot program is slated to terminate and all provisional operating authority certificates to expire one year from the date FMCSA grants the first provisional certificate.)

Requirements for Participation in the Pilot Program

Mexico-domiciled carrier must submit certain forms, notification. To participate in the program, a Mexico-domiciled motor carrier must, pursuant to regulations already in place, submit (1) Form OP-1(MX), entitled "Application to Register Mexican Carriers for Motor Carrier Authority to Operate Beyond U.S. Municipalities and Commercial Zones on the U.S.-Mexico Border';" (2) Form MCS-150, the "Motor Carrier Identification Report;" and (3) notification of the means used to designate agents for service of legal process, either by submitting Form BOC-3, "Designation of Agents-Motor Carriers, Brokers and Freight Forwarders," or a letter stating that the applicant will use a process agent service that will submit Form BOC-3 electronically.

(FMCSA has developed special rules that govern Mexico-domiciled motor carriers during the application process and for several years after receiving OP-1(MX) operating authority which are codified in 49 CFR 365.501 through 365.511. These rules impose requirements on Mexico-domiciled motor carriers in addition to those imposed on U.S.- domiciled motor carriers seeking operating authority.)

Mexico-domiciled carrier must complete pre-authorization safety audit. A Mexico-domiciled carrier must satisfactorily complete the FMCSA-administered pre-authorization safety audit required under FMCSA regulations before it is granted provisional authority to operate in the U.S. beyond the border commercial zones. This pre-authorization audit is not required for U.S.-based motor carriers. The audit is a review of the carrier's safety management systems including written procedures and records to validate the accuracy of information and certifications provided in the application.

The safety audit includes:

Verification of available performance data and safety management programs;

Verification of a controlled substances and alcohol testing program consistent with 49 CFR Part 40;

Verification of the carrier's system of compliance with hours-of-service rules in 49 CFR Part 395, including recordkeeping and retention;

Verification of proof of financial responsibility;

Review of available data concerning the carrier's safety history, and other information necessary to determine the carrier's preparedness to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, 49 CFR Parts 382 through 399, and the Federal Hazardous Material Regulations, and 49 CFR Parts 171 through 180;

Inspection of available commercial motor vehicles to be used under provisional operating authority, if any of these vehicles have not received a decal required by 49 CFR 385.103(d);

Evaluation of the carrier's safety inspection, maintenance, and repair facilities or management systems, including verification of records of periodic vehicle inspections;

Verification of drivers' qualifications, including confirmation of the validity of the Licencia de Federal de Conductor of each driver the carrier intends to assign to operate under its provisional operating authority; and

An interview of carrier officials to review safety management controls and evaluate any written safety oversight policies and practices.

(According to FMCSA, from among the currently-eligible prospective participants, FMCSA is in the process of conducting pre-authorization safety audits on a group of motor carriers diverse both in fleet size and geographical location. Of the carrier applicants selected by FMCSA for audit, 18% are from non-border states in Mexico, while 82% are domiciled in one of Mexico's six border states.

For this program, a small vehicle fleet is 20 trucks or less, while a medium-sized fleet consists of 21 to 100 trucks. A large fleet is anything in excess of 100 trucks.)

Vehicles must have CVSA decal. Vehicles the motor carrier intends to use for operations within the U.S. will be inspected and will be required to have a valid Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) decal affixed or to pass an in-depth North American Standard Truck Inspection.

FMCSA to Monitor and Analyze Safety of Mexican Carrier Program Participants

FMCSA will monitor the operational safety of all Mexico-domiciled motor carriers participating in the pilot program. Monitoring will also include electronic data collection and analysis to identify potential safety issues.

Field monitoring to include inspection, compliance, etc. Field monitoring will include inspections of vehicles, verification of compliance with the terms of the provisional operating authority, driver license checks, crash reporting, and initiation of enforcement actions when appropriate.

(A Mexico-domiciled motor carrier committing any violations specified in 49 CFR 385.105(a) and identified through roadside inspections or by other means, may be subject to a compliance review and enforcement action.)

Analysis to include crash rate data, safety law violations, etc. FMCSA anticipates examining the crash rate of Mexican carriers, convictions of Mexican drivers for violations of U.S. traffic safety laws, the rate at which Mexican drivers and vehicles are placed out of service when inspected in the U.S., violations discovered during pre-authority safety audits, and compliance of Mexican trucking companies with U.S. drug and alcohol testing regulations.

¹FMCSA also refers to this pilot program as a demonstration project.

-comments must be received on or before May 31, 2007

(See ITT's Online Archives or 02/27/07 news, 07022705, for BP summary of the DOT's announcement of this pilot program.

See ITT's Online Archives or 04/20/07 and 04/27/07 news, 07042099 1 and 07042799 1, for BP summary of opposition to this pilot program.)

FMCSA contact - Milt Schmidt (202) 366-4049

FMCSA notice (D/N FMCSA-2007-28055, FR Pub 05/01/07) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/07-2152.pdf

DOT press release (DOT 43-07, dated 04/30/07) available at http://www.dot.gov/affairs/dot4307.htm