Official open to extending truck project

Cross-border program challenged in court

A controversial pilot program to test the safety of Mexican trucks traveling throughout the United States has drawn fewer participants than expected, raising the chance that it might be extended to collect additional results, a top federal transportation official said yesterday.

In an interview, John Hill, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, blamed opposition to the program in Congress and among groups such as the Teamsters union for depressing participation.

Some trucking companies are reluctant to pay several thousand dollars a year for insurance required to cross the border “in light of the uncertainty of whether or not it (the program) is going to continue,” Hill said.

No decision has been made on whether to extend the program, which began Sept. 6 and is scheduled to last one year, the Department of Transportation said.

Hill, who has overseen the program since its inception, said one way to collect additional safety data would be to extend the program beyond its scheduled end.

“I think it will depend on how much interest we see (among carriers in joining the program) after the congressional uproar,” he said.

As the program reached its halfway point yesterday, supporters and opponents were awaiting a ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which heard arguments Feb. 12 on a lawsuit filed by the Teamsters and other groups claiming that the program is unsafe and illegal.

Congress passed a law last year shutting off funding for the pilot program. The Bush administration has continued the program, arguing that the narrowly worded law bars new pilot programs but does not end the existing one – an interpretation that sponsors of the legislation reject.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters began the program with hopes that it would prove Mexican trucks safe and lead to a permanent opening of the border to long-haul truck traffic, as provided for in the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The program allows up to 100 carriers from each country to send trucks across the border. But as of yesterday, there were just 18 Mexican carriers and five U.S. carriers participating. The 18 Mexican carriers had 62 trucks enrolled, while the U.S. carriers had 45 trucks in the program.

Hill said 63 Mexican carriers have passed the comprehensive U.S. safety inspection required to enter the program. But of these, only 18 have purchased insurance and actually participated.

The Teamsters also are surprised by the low number of participants, union spokeswoman Leslie Miller said.

“Surprised and pleased,” she said.