In September 2023, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) announced that the fee for the use of emergency braking ramps on all federal highways was being eliminated , while the Computerized Service Registration System (SIRSE) was being created, which would provide transparency and legal certainty in the rescue of federal and private motor transport vehicles by means of cranes.
This is a positive situation on paper, but in reality it is far from being fulfilled. At the end of December, a transport company faced the situation where one of its fulles (double-articulated tractor-trailers) had to take an emergency ramp to avoid an accident, or make it worse, according to what one of its directors told T21.
In this story, it was shared how the company had to accrue a high amount of hundreds of thousands of pesos, which increased as the days passed , despite the fact that the situation of using the emergency ramp was justified.
The businessman who shared his story emphasized the complex route that must be followed, where there is no support from the authorities, such as the National Guard, to avoid the different abuses that occur on the roads, such as what happens with the cranes and the excessive charges for towing and rescue services.
In those same days, in the Transport and Logistics group on LinkedIn, the case of Valtons Group was described , which also faced a situation with the towing and rescue cranes, where due to a service bill that should not exceed 40 thousand pesos, a bill of more than one million pesos had to be covered.
“Businessmen, transporters and citizens: Today we raise our voices against the corruption and brutal abuse carried out by certain tow truck companies in Mexico,” quotes the Valtons Group publication.
The main complaint from the company is that there was no budget or cost report. “This is how these abusive cranes operate, without transparency, without ethics and with total impunity,” said Valtons Group.
The call from Valtons Group and its general director, Isaí Pérez, is to state the excessive abuse and helplessness of the authority, because in addition to covering the amount of more than one million pesos, the full amount was retained for more than six days, “affecting our operations and economy ,” Pérez said on his LinkedIn account.
The situation faced by both companies is a constant that transportation companies face on a daily basis, and the call from the businessmen is to stop this type of extortion and abuse, in addition to having the support of the authorities.
“These practices damage the economy, affect thousands of families and destroy trust in our institutions. This has to stop!” stated the posts on social media and in the message shared with T21.
