Trucks Traveling Between Mexico and the United States

The United States and Mexico are currently working together on a pilot program that will allow Mexican motor carriers the right to do business behind the twenty five mile border zone. This is the next step in Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s current way of implementing the North American Free Trade Agreement of cross border trucking routes.

This program will give Mexico domiciled trucking companies the ability to operate throughout the entire United States for up to three years. The United States is granted the same exact rights throughout Mexico for the same amount of time.

There are currently three United States Carriers that have received approval and are operating within Mexican borders. There are currently only two Mexico domiciled companies that are operating within the United States and only one of them has actually crossed the border.

The whole program has been the source of many questions by critics. These critics have said that the Mexican trucks are not safe enough to operate within the United States. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has lashed out at the critics and they firmly stand behind their decision to allow Mexican based trucks to operate within the United States. They have also said that this program will allow the Mexican based trucking companies a chance to prove themselves, and show the critics that they are indeed safe. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has also carefully noted that this pilot program is merely a test. If things do not work out as planned, then the pilot program will be shit down, and the Mexican based trucking companies will no longer be able to operate within the United States and vice versa.

This program was supposed to get off the ground in 1995. The initial states were just the states that bordered Mexico, and by the year 2000, the Mexican based trucking companies were supposed to have full access to all of the states, but it never happened.

In 2007 the Department of Transportation tried to launch a similar project, but this project was put to rest two short years later in 2009.

The new program does come with quite a few requirements for Mexican drivers. There will be strict safety reviews that each driver must pass. They must also pass drug tests, their English language skills will be put to the test, and they must also be able to understand American traffic signs. Failure in any of these fields will lead to rejection for that Mexican driver. It is still unclear how this will affect moving truck rental companies.

Moving from one country to another is nothing like moving within the country. Moving trucks that need to cross the border of Mexico are often targets for customs agents. Everything must be checked at the border before the truck will be allowed through. Moving from the United States to Mexico is an adventure of its own. Make sure that you know what you are in for before you get behind the wheel of a moving truck.