Commercial Trucking

The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the three border states GAO reviewed--Arizona, California, and Texas--have increased inspections at the border and have taken other steps to improve Mexican truck compliance with U.S. safety regulations. From January through December 1996, federal and state officials conducted more than 25,000 inspections of trucks from Mexico. However, Mexican trucks entering the United States continue to exhibit serious safety violations. On average each month, about 45 percent of the vehicles were placed out of service for violations. This rate compares unfavorably with the 28-percent out-of-service rate for U.S. trucks inspected across the United States in fiscal year 1995. Federal and state officials contend that their efforts have had a positive impact and that Mexican trucks are safer than they were in 1995, but there is no hard evidence to support this claim. Most of the existing information is anecdotal. Compliance cannot be assessed at the border because results-oriented quantitative measures are not in place. DOT could improve commercial truck safety enforcement at the border by encouraging states to set specific, measurable results-oriented enforcement strategies for truck inspections at border crossings and by assisting them in doing so. DOT also needs to be more active in securing inspection facilities at planned or existing border installations.

GAO noted that: (1) from January through December 1996, federal and state officials conducted more than 25,000 inspections of trucks from Mexico; (2) on average each month, about 45 percent of the vehicles were placed out of service for serious safety violations, such as for having substandard tires or for being loaded unsafely; (3) this rate compares unfavorably to the 28 percent out-of-service rate for U.S. trucks inspected across the United States in fiscal year 1995; (4) however, because inspectors target for inspection those vehicles and drivers that appear to have safety deficiencies, their selections are not random; (5) as a result, the out-of-service rates may not necessarily reflect the general condition of all vehicles; (6) although border inspection officials believe that trucks from Mexico are safer than they were in late 1995, the monthly out-of-service rates for trucks from Mexico in 1996 ranged from 39 percent to 50 percent, with no consistent trend; (7) the border states of Arizona, California, and Texas have increased their capability to inspect trucks at major border locations; (8) collectively, the three states had 93 state truck inspectors assigned to border crossing locations as of January 1997; (9) in addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) approved 13 new temporary positions (2-year appointments) to place federal safety inspectors at major border crossing locations; (10) California, with about 24 percent of the truck traffic from Mexico, opened two large permanent inspection facilities; (11) it has the most rigorous inspection program, with the goal of inspecting, at least once every 90 days, every truck entering the state from Mexico; (12) while both Texas and Arizona, collectively with more than three-quarters of the truck traffic from Mexico, have more than doubled the number of inspectors at border crossing locations, their efforts are less comprehensive; (13) under a broad strategy to help create a "compliance mind-set" for Mexican trucks crossing into U.S. commercial zones, DOT has undertaken a number of activities to promote truck safety; (14) in February 1997, DOT announced that its program that provides grants for statewide safety enforcement activities will incorporate performance-based goals to increase truck and driver safety; and (15) also, in March 1997, DOT submitted a legislative proposal to the Congress as part of the reauthorization of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act that would incorporate this initiative.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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