MEXICAN TRUCKS TO HIT U.S. HIGHWAYS CRITICS SAY SAFETY RISK UNACCEPTABLE.

Byline: LISA FRIEDMAN

Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Mexican trucks will begin rolling onto American highways in 60 days, despite warnings from critics that the endeavor is fraught with safety risks, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said Thursday.

Peters vowed that all Mexican trucks entering the U.S. under a limited pilot program will be subject to tough regulations -- including license checks and drug tests -- that will be closely monitored.

Mexican truckers in the program also will not be allowed to make domestic deliveries, will not be allowed to carry hazardous materials and will be checked for insurance, she said.

"I am convinced we have a situation that can be implemented safely," Peters said in testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee's transportation panel.

The Bush administration last month announced the test program in which an unlimited number of trucks from 100 selected Mexican companies will be permitted to haul freight into the American heartland.

If it is successful, the trial will pave the way for full cross-border truck access that the U.S. and Mexico agreed to when they signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1992.

Currently, about 5 million trucks arrive from Mexico annually, but they cannot travel farther than 25 miles from the border.

The system requires at least three drivers for every shipment, agents for the exporters and customs brokers, according to the American Trucking Association. Peters called the process "costly, cumbersome and outdated."

But Joan Claybrook, president of the watchdog group Public Citizen, and Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa Jr. contended Mexican trucks fail to meet basic safety requirements.

Drug tests, they argued, are easily compromised, and U.S. laws limiting the number of hours truck drivers can be on the road are unenforceable until drivers arrive at the border. Meanwhile, the Mexican government does not have a license database to identify drivers.

"We don't really know who these drivers are," Hoffa said. "I'm alarmed that the Department of Transportation is moving forward with this dangerous program."

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., agreed. He noted that, of the 43,000 fatal vehicle crashes in 2005, about 5,000 involved trucks.

"Our highways are not the place to conduct an experiment," he testified.

Inspector General Calvin Scovel agreed with concerns about drug testing. He noted that while the actual lab tests are performed in the U.S., tampering with collection samples is rampant in Mexico.

He also expressed concern that the Department of Transportation still has no criteria for determining whether the pilot program is successful.

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