COMMERCIAL TRUCKING: SAFETY AND INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES UNDER THE NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) provided, among other things, for the U.S.-Mexican border to be opened on December 18, 1995, for increased commercial truck traffic within the respective border states--four in the United States (Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas) and six in Mexico. Before that date, the 11,000 trucks crossing daily from Mexico into the United States were limited to commercial zones along the border. Because there are major differences between U.S. and Mexican trucking regulations and operating practices that could adversely affect highway safety and infrastructure in the United States, the General Accounting Office (GAO) evaluated the major implementation efforts associated with opening the U.S.-Mexican border to commercial trucking. In early December 1995, GAO provided detailed briefings to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and several congressional offices on the results of this review. GAO reported significant safety concerns relating to trucks from Mexico that were operating in the commercial zones within the United States. This report updates and summarizes the major points in the briefings. The key briefing charts, showing the characteristics of and differences between U.S. and Mexican commercial trucking, are included as Appendix I.

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• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/13848
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Report to Congressional Recipients.
• Corporate Authors:

  U.S. General Accounting Office

  441 G Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20548
• Publication Date: 1996-2

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: 52 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Compliance; Highway safety; Infrastructure; International borders; International trade; Law enforcement; Laws; Trucking; Trucks
• Identifier Terms: North American Free Trade Agreement
• Geographic Terms: Mexico; United States
• Old TRIS Terms: Truck laws & regulations
• Subject Areas: Economics; Freight Transportation; Highways; Law; Motor Carriers; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Society; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00720309
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: GAO/RCED-96-61
• Files: NTL, TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 29 1996 12:00AM