Property-casualty insurance organizations and consumer groups have expressed concerns about a new program allowing Mexican trucks into the United States beyond the current 25-mile zone.

Earlier this year, during a visit to truck inspection facilities in El Paso, Texas, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters announced that U.S. trucks will for the first time be allowed to make deliveries in Mexico under a year-long pilot program that expands cross-border trucking operations with Mexico.

In turn, a select group of Mexican trucking companies will be allowed to make deliveries beyond the 20-to-25 mile commercial zones currently in place along the Southwest border.

In testimony last month before a Senate Transportation Subcommittee, David Snyder, assistant vice president at the American Insurance Association, said questions such as Mexican enforcement of hours of service, maintenance and other safety issues have not been answered satisfactorily.

Ms. Peters said those Mexican truck companies that may be allowed to participate in the one-year program will all be required to have insurance with a U.S.-licensed firm and meet all U.S. safety standards.

But Mr. Snyder noted that despite some improvements, U.S. insurers do not have ready access to information they need to underwrite Mexican trucks–data readily available for underwriting U.S. trucking risks.

“When the human and economic stakes are so high, insurers need to learn as much as they can about the risk so they can provide loss control services to reduce the risk and price it accurately,” he said.

Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook also told senators at the same hearing that “at the outset, the DOT's recent announcement appears to be a calculated, cynical move intended to insure the border is open to all commercial traffic regardless of the implications for highway safety.”

Ms. Peters said the new demonstration program was designed to simplify a process that currently requires Mexican truckers to stop and wait for U.S. trucks to arrive and transfer cargo.

She said this process wastes money, drives up the cost of goods and leaves trucks loaded with cargo idling inside U.S. borders.

Ms. Peters added that under current rules, U.S. trucks are not allowed into Mexico because the United States refused to implement provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement that would have permitted safe cross-border trucking.

But Ms. Claybrook called the pilot program a “show-piece” so the United States could proclaim the border open under the NAFTA framework.

“In order to serve the public properly and protect safety, we must avoid this 'mission accomplished' mindset and deal realistically with the many safety issues that are yet to be resolved before the border is ready to be open to all commercial vehicles,” she said.

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Insurers, Consumer Groups Object To Mexican Truck Pilot Program

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