Local 2 Investigates Safety Of Mexican Trucks
Critics Claim Safety At Stake; By Robert Arnold

POSTED: 2:06 pm CST February 4, 2008
UPDATED: 8:31 am CST February 5, 2008


HOUSTON -- On a Thursday morning in Laredo, hundreds of Mexican trucks wait to cross the border. With every truck that crosses into Texas, critics worry about safety.

"They have a notorious reputation for having unsafe vehicles that pollute the air," said U.S. Rep. Ted Poe.

That's why most Mexican trucks are confined to what's called a commercial zone.

Mexican truckers are only allowed to drive 25 miles or less into the United States before an American trucker picks up the load and takes it on to its destination.

That is now changing under a new federal program that allows a handful of Mexican companies to drive their trucks beyond the commercial zone and travel throughout the United States.

"If you look at any of them you're going to find violations -- brakes, springs, cracked suspensions," said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

"Many of those trucks will come through the Houston area before they go east," said Poe.

The concern from both Congress and the industry is there are not enough inspectors to make sure Mexican trucks and drivers are safe to be on our roads.

Local 2 Investigates examined the numbers. Out of the millions of Mexican trucks crossing into Texas each year, only 4 to 7 percent receive any kind of inspection from the either federal or state inspectors. Even with such a small number of inspections, out of all the trucking violations handed out in Texas during the past five years, more than half were found on Mexican trucks.

A lot of factors go into determining which of these trucks go for inspection and which ones don't, such as weather or company history. Another way is through pre-filing. One hour before Mexican trucks hit our border the company in Mexico has to file paperwork explaining what the cargo is and who the driver is. If it is hazardous cargo, that paperwork has to be filed 24 hours in advance.

Remember, all this applies just to the Mexican trucks confined to the commercial zone.

"Now we're having and adding thousands more because they're going to be able to go throughout the hinterlands of the United States and they can't be inspected," said Poe.

To allay these fears, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration promised to thoroughly inspect every Mexican truck that's allowed travel beyond the commercial zone. Our cameras were there for one of those inspections at the Laredo crossing. It is a blistering thorough inspection, but it's a process that takes about 40 minutes per truck.

While only a handful of Mexican companies are allowed to travel beyond the commercial zone now, dozens more have lined up to apply for the program.

"We haven't had a level playing field in terms of enforcement," said Spencer.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has filed a federal lawsuit to stop this program. The suit claims inspectors have found serious violations on Mexican trucks, but continue to allow the trucks to drive on our roads beyond the commercial zone.

"We were kind of stunned when we looked at the data that they were finding when they checked the trucks from Mexico," said Spencer.

The federal government claims the association is exaggerating the number and types of violations found. As an extra layer of safety, federal inspectors traveled to Mexico to examine company records on both the trucks and drivers before those companies were allowed into the program.

"That's a joke and it's really, really a sick joke," said Spencer.

Spencer and the president of the Texas Motor Transportation Association, John Esparza, argue there is not enough information on the Mexican side of the border to make any kind of assurances.

"We're going to have to, as an industry, be convinced that it's a level playing field," said Esparza.

"They say they qualify even though our own inspector general said, 'No they don't'," said Poe.

As of right now, fewer than 20 Mexican companies are allowed to travel beyond the commercial zone. Nearly three dozen other Mexican companies have already passed initial safety audits to be part of the program and dozens have filed applications.

Congress thought it killed this program by choking off funding.

So why are some Mexican trucks still being allowed to travel throughout the U.S.?

On Tuesday at 6:50 a.m., Robert will show us why some in Congress believe the program is operating illegally.


If you have a news tip or question for KPRC Local 2 Investigates, drop them an e-mail or call their tipline at (713) 223-TIPS (8477).

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