OOIDA asks FMCSA for complete, accurate data on approved Mexican trucks
Todd Spencer
The Trucker News Services
11/5/2007
GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) often claims Mexican trucks are safer than U.S. trucks, but available data doesn’t back up those claims, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) stated in a news release.
OOIDA requested that FMCSA provide explanations as to why certain carriers have been given approval to enter the United States when little or no data is available to demonstrate how they have fully complied with all applicable laws on safety and security. The request was included in OOIDA’s comments posted to the FMCSA public notice in the Federal Register. That notice discloses several Mexico-domiciled motor carriers that have passed a Pre-Authority Safety Audit (PASA).
In review of the published notice, OOIDA found it only shows whether certain Mexican motor carriers passed certain categories, but nothing about the data relied upon to make those determinations.
“It’s like they are still making it up as they go along,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer said. “They just go ahead and say it passes, therefore it’s supposed to be accepted as true.”
Because no specifics were available in the public notice, OOIDA then reviewed FMCSA’s SafetStat database and found several red flags on the companies receiving a go from PASA.
For example, according to OOIDA, one approved carrier, Avomex International, shows a pattern of tolerance for Hours of Service violations by its drivers. During 172 inspections conducted between Sept. 21, 2006, and Sept. 21 of this year the company was cited for 206 violations. Running five trucks in the U.S., that averages slightly more than 40 violations per truck.
“And that gets an approved PASA?” asked Spencer. “This is just one of several examples we found that no authority should be granted to any Mexican motor carriers.”