Ms. Peters said those Mexican truck companies that may be allowed to participate in the one-year program will all be required to have insurance with a U.S.-licensed firm and meet all U.S. safety standards.

But Mr. Snyder noted that despite some improvements, U.S. insurers do not have ready access to information they need to underwrite Mexican trucks–data readily available for underwriting U.S. trucking risks.

“When the human and economic stakes are so high, insurers need to learn as much as they can about the risk so they can provide loss control services to reduce the risk and price it accurately,” he said.

Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook also told senators at the same hearing that “at the outset, the DOT's recent announcement appears to be a calculated, cynical move intended to insure the border is open to all commercial traffic regardless of the implications for highway safety.”

Ms. Peters said the new demonstration program was designed to simplify a process that currently requires Mexican truckers to stop and wait for U.S. trucks to arrive and transfer cargo.

She said this process wastes money, drives up the cost of goods and leaves trucks loaded with cargo idling inside U.S. borders.

Ms. Peters added that under current rules, U.S. trucks are not allowed into Mexico because the United States refused to implement provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement that would have permitted safe cross-border trucking.

But Ms. Claybrook called the pilot program a “show-piece” so the United States could proclaim the border open under the NAFTA framework.

“In order to serve the public properly and protect safety, we must avoid this 'mission accomplished' mindset and deal realistically with the many safety issues that are yet to be resolved before the border is ready to be open to all commercial vehicles,” she said.