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Commercial trucks traveling to or from Mexico will be outfitted with a satellite tracking device to assuage fears that participants in a cross-border pilot program may not follow safety rules.The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA, will spend $367,000 on 100 devices for trucks from the United States and Mexico to monitor them as they pick up and deliver loads, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.The decision to require the installation of satellite-tracking technology was made after members of Congress questioned participants' compliance with U.S. safety and trade laws, said Melissa Mazzella DeLaney, an FMCSA spokeswoman. The yearlong pilot program, a provision of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, began in September. Before that, Mexican trucks were restricted to driving within a commercial border zone that stretches about 20 miles inside the United States, except in Arizona, where it extends 75 miles.Attempts by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to block the entry of Mexican trucks into the U.S. failed, and dozens of truckers rallied at Mexican border crossings in California and Texas on the first day of the program.To date, 15 trucks from five Mexican companies have registered with the program, as have 30 trucks from three U.S. companies, Mazzella DeLaney said.The program is expected to grow to about 540 trucks, she said."It has been successful," Mazzella DeLaney said of the past two months."It's worked without incident."
Using Global Position System-based technology, FMCSA will track hours-of-service laws and rules that govern the trips into and out of the country.The agency also will allow real-time tracking of truck location and documenting every international-border and state-line crossing, Mazzella DeLaney said.The satellite-based technology, developed by San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc., will be used to track trucks by vehicle number and company only-no driver information will be collected, she said.In September, the Senate approved a proposal prohibiting the Transportation Department from spending money on the pilot program. The program continues while Congress debates a larger transportation bill that contains the provision.
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