In an annual audit report of the North American Free Trade Agreement's cross-border trucking provisions, the Office of the Inspector General said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration should improve in meeting the safety criteria
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In 2002, an appropriations act set forth eight safety criteria for the FMCSA to follow related to potential Mexico-domiciled motor carrier operations beyond the commercial zones.

According to the report, the FMCSA met six of the eight criteria since its last audit in August 2007. The OIG pointed to two areas that need improvement: having a sufficient database to allow safety monitoring of Mexican carriers and drivers, and having adequate capacity at southern border to conduct meaningful bus inspections.

The OIG said there are databases in place, but the FMCSA needed to improve the consistency of Mexican traffic conviction reporting to the Mexican Conviction Database among states.

For example, New Mexico did not report its first quarter 2008 convictions until the second quarter of 2008. According to FMCSA, new state staff did not know about the reporting requirements.

In addition, Arizona reported 66 convictions for most of 2008, compared to 229 convictions in 2007. According to FMCSA, the state's low reporting in 2008 was due to court non-compliance, reduction in CDL-related state law enforcement activities as a result of budget cuts, and reductions in commercial driving due to the economic downturn.

"Any conviction information that is delayed or not reported, including information on convictions incurred while driving a non-commercial vehicle, could result in Mexican federal CDL holders continuing to drive in the United States after incurring a disqualifying traffic offense," the OIG said.

The FMCSA agreed to "ensure state action plans addressing reporting problems are completed, obtain monthly data reports and notify states of inconsistencies found, and provide guidance on tracking inconsistencies to FMCSA Division Administrators," the report said.

In terms of the capacity issue, the report said FMCSA did not conduct bus inspections during peak hours, such as holiday periods, at Laredo, Texas. In response, the FMCSA agreed to modify the Bus Inspection Plan for Laredo to cover periods of peak traffic. The agency also committed to working with the Customs and Border Protection to determine the effectiveness of the plan, and study bus activities and operations at southern border crossings.

In response to the report, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said the borders should remain closed to Mexican trucks. "This new report raises even more alarms about opening our border to unsafe trucks from Mexico and endangering the lives of drivers in the United States," Hoffa said.

"This report shows without a doubt that opening the border to Mexican trucks and buses puts an unacceptable strain on our border resources," Hoffa said. "Federal officials couldn't keep up with inspections when there were only 118 trucks in the pilot program. If the border were opened to all Mexican trucks, border inspection stations would be completely overwhelmed."

To view the report, click here.