Tracking of US-Mexico cross-border project trucks sparks another row

The FMCSA’s announcement that all Mexican and US vehicles participating in the ongoing cross-border trucking demonstration project will have to participate in a satellite-based vehicle tracking system has been met with derision from both the Teamsters and the OOIDA.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) intends to issue a contract to provide satellite terminals for the near real-time tracking of commercial trucks travelling throughout the continental US and Mexico as part of the cross-border trucking demonstration project.

The vehicle tracking system will incorporate GPS and wireless technology to accurately determine a vehicle’s position, and will be used to monitor hours of service, cabotage violations, and the date and time of international and state crossings.

Vehicles will be tracked by vehicle number and company – no driver information will be collected or tracked.

The systems will be installed at no cost to the participating trucking companies, which prompted the Teamsters to wonder where the FMCSA expects the money to come from to pay for the project.

The Teamsters have long opposed the US-Mexico cross-border truck pilot scheme.

According to Teamsters president James Hoffa, the issue is not about Mexican drivers, but about the Mexican government’s failure to enforce safety requirements and the exploitation of drivers by Mexican trucking companies.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) agrees, saying the satellite tracking system is more shine than substance.

“It may sound impressive to those unfamiliar with the industry or the limits of the technology, but closer scrutiny verifies it’s a cosmetic cover up for a poorly conceived program,” stated OOIDA executive vice president Todd Spencer.

He added that the agency is currently unable to monitor HOS compliance with US drivers without checking paperwork or other manual records. “We’d like FMCSA to explain in more detail exactly how this system will actually keep track of the hours of service of a trucker.”

The FMCSA initiative comes despite efforts in Congress to completely halt the Mexican truck demonstration program.

Under the pilot program, the first Mexican truck crossed the border into the US on Monday September 10th. The next day, the US Senate promptly voted 74-24 to block funding for the pilot program, following an incident in Northern Mexico when a when a truck exploded after a collision.

The list of US and Mexico trucking companies that have been authorised to participate in the cross-border trucking demonstration project has been published on http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/cross-border/cross-border-carriers.htm