The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced in the Aug. 17 Federal Register that it has reviewed all the public comments on its proposed demonstration project to allow expanded Mexican carrier operations and will move forward with the program once the final legislated hurdles are cleared.
Under legislation adopted by Congress in May, the pilot project cannot begin until the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) completes its report to Congress, which is expected soon. FMCSA then would have to implement any follow-up actions that the OIG identifies as necessary to ensure public safety.
FMCSA said that the vast majority of comments — about 2,330 of 2,359 submitted — “were submissions by individuals that were no more than a few sentences and consisted of conclusory statements indicating that Mexico-domiciled carriers are unsafe and that the demonstration project should be abandoned.” Those comments, most submitted electronically, did not include information concerning specific safety oversight procedures or processes or legal aspects of the demonstration project or economic issues, FMCSA said.
For more information, visit http://dms.dot.gov/search and search Docket No. 28055.
