DOT may extend Mexican truck plan

NITL (The National Industrial Transportation League) -- Logistics Management, 3/19/2008 5:48:00 AM

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said late last week that the cross-border truck plan could conceivably continue for three more years.

This statement came a day after Transportation Secretary Mary Peters testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee that it was the intent of FMCSA to halt the program after its September 2008 deadline. Peters told the Senate panel, “If we were to move forward I believe it would be in violation of what the language requires” from the 2008 appropriations bill.

Following this testimony, the FMCSA sent out a clarification that stated, “The Secretary has expanded her answer… to ensure that the record reflects the fact the Department has the authority to extend the Demonstration Project up to the three-year maximum permitted under the pilot program statute.”

The agency continued, “At this point no decision has been made on whether the Department will exercise that authority.”

The cross-border pilot project has been under heavy criticism from several Members of Congress as well as the Teamsters and a handful of advocacy groups who claim that Mexican trucks could cause an increase in accidents. A federal lawsuit has been filed against the program and the Senate plans on at least one more hearing on the issue in the next week.

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