FMCSA to seek comment on 7th Mexico-based carrier
The agency said Transportes Monteblanco SA de CV, a carrier based in Mexico, Distrito Federal, has passed the pre-authorization safety audit with two trucks and four drivers being approved.
The Trucker News Services
9/11/2012
WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Wednesday will publish a notice in the Federal Register seeking comments on what could become the seventh Mexico-domiciled carrier to be granted authority to participate in the cross-border demonstration pilot program.
The agency said Transportes Monteblanco SA de CV, a carrier based in Mexico, Distrito Federal, has passed the pre-authorization safety audit with two trucks and four drivers being approved.
The FMCSA will accept comments for 10 days following publication of the notice in the Federal Register.
The agency did acknowledge that during the PASA, it turned up information about the carrier not in the original application.
The FMCSA said in the notice that through the PASA process it determined that Transportes Monteblanco SA de CV has affiliations with additional companies, and one of those has a very similar name.
“During the carrier vetting and PASA process, FMCSA reviewed its records related to the affiliates, and confirmed that the companies are U.S.-domiciled motor carriers registered with FMCSA,” the notice said.
The FMCSA noted that Transportes Monteblanco SA de CV is affiliated with two companies: Transportes Monteblanco, an interstate motor carrier and MG Alimentos Inc., an intrastate motor carrier.
“While this information was not reflected on the carrier’s application, it was noted during the agency’s vetting and documented during the PASA,” the notice reads. “Additionally, the agency is aware that the operating authority associated with Transportes Monteblanco was revoked on April 18, 2012, as a result of a lapse of insurance. The agency notes that this carrier has been inspected three times since this date, but has not been cited for operating without authority. The agency confirmed that the reason for this is that the carrier was transporting exempt commodities which do not require operating authority. The FMCSA said the carrier filed evidence of insurance on April 26, 2012, and submitted the required reinstatement fee. Its operating authority was reinstated July 23.
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The agency said it was aware that one of the affiliated companies, Transportes Monteblanco, has a Safety Measurement System (SMS) alert in the Fatigued Driving (Hours of Service) BASIC.
“While this is a matter of concern with respect to the safety performance of that carrier, the Agency has confirmed that Transportes Monteblanco SA de CV was created to fulfill a separate business need and not to evade or conceal a negative safety performance history of the affiliated motor carriers,” the notice reads. “The agency will continue monitoring the safety of the affiliated interstate motor carrier through SMS and will take action directly on the carrier, if appropriate.”
Therefore, the FMCSA said it would not apply the SMS scores of the affiliated carriers to Transportes Monteblanco SA de CV when considering whether Transportes Monteblanco SA de CV has demonstrated that it is willing and able to comply with the safety regulations.
The FMCSA also noted that Transportes Monteblanco SA de CV currently has a 100 percent driver out of service rate as a commercial zone carrier, but that the data is based on the only two inspections completed within the preceding 24 months.
“Both inspections were conducted by FMCSA staff members on May 10 to verify the compliance of the vehicles and the drivers proposed to participate in the pilot program,” the notice reads. “During these inspections, the drivers were cited for failing to communicate in English. However, these drivers proposed for participation in the pilot program were retested for English language proficiency on May 31, and passed that evaluation.”
The Trucker staff can be reached to comment on this article at editor@thetrucker.com.
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