SAN ANTONIO – Slowly but surely, things are moving along for commercial vehicle drivers at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge.
The ports for enhanced vehicle inspections ordered by Governor Greg Abbott are once again busy as drivers in Mexico ended the days-long blockade in Reynosa.
Abbott said the inspections will take unsafe vehicles off the road and help stop elicit activity along the border.
Troopers with the Department of Public Safety are inspecting commercial vehicles for defective brakes, tires and lighting, a small leak and low tire pressure among other violations.
On Thursday morning, Abraham De León, a Mexican truck driver, was forced to wait in the sidelines.
“Me dejaron fuera de servicio,” DeLeón said.
De León said he was put out of service by DPS due to an air leak in the service line.
“Hay que repararla, que venga el mecánico,” De León said. The repair, he said, will need to be made by a mechanic.
Others, like Edgar Espinoza, were flagged for malfunctioning taillights.
“Deben prender nada más las de las orillas (pero) prenden las cuatro,” Espinoza said.
In less than two hours, Espinoza was able to repair the short circuit that caused all four taillights to blink repeatedly.
In a statement to KSAT 12, DPS said the following:
“As of April 13, 2022, DPS has inspected 5,110 commercial vehicles and 1,196 of these commercial vehicles were placed out of service for serious safety violations to include defective brakes, defective tires and defective lighting. Additionally, 126 commercial vehicle drivers were placed out of service. A total of 16,642 violations have been detected (at select points of entry).”
Drivers must fix the problem they were flagged down for on-site. DPS is later flagged down to make a final inspection; however, drivers said they anticipate additional delays.
Espinoza and De León said they were advised Mexico’s northbound commercial lanes would be closing early in observance of Holy Thursday and Good Friday.