The Mexican border is going to open to long-distance trucking, but not this month as President Bush had originally hoped.
After months of wrangling over the details, Congress last month ordered the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to install tough entry rules, which will take until the middle of the year to put in place.

As Washington Editor Oliver Patton reports in the January issue of Heavy Duty Trucking, the transportation spending bill that includes the border opening legislation says the border cannot be opened until FMCSA conducts a safety examination of each Mexican applicant, verifying the company's performance data and safety management program, insurance coverage, driver qualifications, and maintenance program. It must inspect any trucks that do not have a current CVSA sticker. If the company passes the safety exam, it can get a conditional operating authority good for 18 months. During that period, the agency must conduct a full-fledged compliance review before the company can get permanent authority.
A key condition of the law is that the DOT's Inspector General must verify the new system is in place, and Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta must certify that opening the border does not pose an "unacceptable risk."

For more on the new law, see the January issue of Heavy Duty Trucking.Click here to see if you qualify for a free subscription.