Mar 1, 2003 12:00 PM

Twenty eight Mexican inspectors are completing an intensive three-week training program that prepares them to conduct commercial driver and vehicle inspections according to existing North American safety standards.

Completion of the program, financed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), authorizes these specially trained inspectors to apply Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) decals to commercial vehicles that pass critical safety inspection standards. They'll also be authorized to place commercial vehicles and drivers out of service when these standards are not met.

Hosted by the California Highway Patrol, the program is taking place at border inspection facilities in Calexico and Otay Mesa and is being conducted by federal and state instructors and CVSA-certified inspectors from California, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Besides the commitment of resources from Mexico and the United States, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, FMCSA, and TML Information Services all have played important roles in this program.

This training program is one in a series of activities that have been taking place to further the goals of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The program also emphasizes the uniform and reciprocal standards that are the underpinning of CVSA and of the North American Standard Inspection Procedures and Out-of-Service criteria.