Twenty-eight Mexican inspectors are completing an intensive three-week training program that prepares them to conduct commercial driver and vehicle inspections according to existing North American safety standards.

Completion of the program, funded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, authorizes these specially trained inspectors to apply Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) decals to commercial vehicles that pass critical safety inspection standards. They'll also be authorized to place commercial vehicles and drivers out of service when these standards are not met.
Hosted by the California Highway Patrol, the three-week program is taking place at border inspection facilities in Calexico and Otay Mesa and is being conducted by federal and state instructors and CVSA-certified inspectors from California, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
In addition to the commitment of resources from Mexico and the states, the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and TML Information Services all have played roles in this program.
Speaking to the students at an informal ceremony, CVSA President Paul Sullivan said, "The roadside inspection program saves lives. NAFTA has placed the spotlight on us and we are expected to perform. We accept this challenge because we are prepared, and our members believe in each other."
This training program is one in a series of activities that have been taking place to further the goals of the North American Free Trade Agreement. CVSA says this program also emphasizes the uniform and reciprocal standards that are the underpinning of CVSA and of the North American Standard Inspection Procedures and Out-of-Service criteria.
CVSA's members include enforcement agencies and industry representatives in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.