Mexico's carriers have better inspection rates

U.S. domiciled carriers approved for the program had 852 vehicle inspections with 93, or 10.9 percent, being put out of service.

By LYNDON FINNEY
The Trucker Staff

4/23/2008

WASHINGTON — Mexico-domiciled motor carriers that have been approved to participate in the cross-border pilot program have better safety inspection records than their U.S. counterparts, according to data from the Department of Transportation.

In preparation for a story on the pilot program to be published in an upcoming issue, The Trucker surveyed the SafeStat data of each carrier with respect to vehicle and driver inspections.

The 21 Mexico-domiciled carriers approved for the program recorded a total of 1,972 vehicle inspections during the 24-month period ended April 22, according to the data, with 207 vehicles being put out of service (OOS) for an OOS rate of 10.5 percent.

The six U.S. domiciled carriers that are approved for the program had 852 vehicle inspections during the same period, with 93, or 10.9 percent, being put out of service.

The national OOS rate for vehicle inspections for the period 2005-2006 (the latest period for which the national average is published) was 23.14 percent.

Mexico-domiciled companies that are part of the pilot program had 3,465 driver inspections during the two-year period ended April 22, with 20, or 0.6 percent, being placed OOS.

During the comparable period, U.S.-domiciled companies that are part of the program had 1,232 inspections with 48 drivers, or 3.9 percent, being placed OOS.

The Mexico-domiciled company with the most vehicles placed OOS was GCC Transporte SA DE CV of Chihuahua, CI, with 71 out of 662 inspections. Violations included problems with tires, brakes, axles and load securement.

The U.S.-domiciled company with the most inspections was Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution of El Paso, Texas. The company had 542 vehicle inspections with 48, or 8.9 percent, being placed OOS, and 638 driver inspections with 15, or 2.4 percent, being placed OOS.

For a complete list of data for the approved companies, click here.