U.S. ACCEPTS MEXICO’S TRUCK INSPECTION STANDARDS

As of this past March, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is now accepting Mexico’s criteria for annual inspection of trucks domiciled there after concluding its inspection standards were comparable to the United States.

The Secretariat of Communications and Transportation published the official federal inspection standards for Mexico-domiciled commercial motor vehicles more than a year ago. As of last May, Mexico began requiring annual inspections at SCT-approved inspection centers. Carrier employees could no longer pass roadside inspections or inspect trucks their company controls at commercial garages using Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance criteria.

Mexican carriers must keep copies of their inspection reports and a stick/decal must be affixed to the truck to satisfy the U.S. periodic inspection requirements.

The FMCSA reviewed Mexico’s pass-fail criteria for specific vehicle components and systems examined for mandatory inspection. They concluded Mexico’s inspection program is comparable to the United States. It acknowledged Mexico’s compliance dates are different than its own for some safety systems and components, such as antilock braking systems. Regarding that difference the FMCSA stated, “the agency does not believe the differences in the compliance dates for such systems is a sufficient basis for considering Mexico’s annual inspection standards to be substantively different.”