Automotive Industry Celebrates Mobility, Road Safety Reform

Mexico’s Congress approved the reform of the General Law of Mobility and Road Safety (LGMSV), which aims to protect individuals and guarantee the right to mobility in a safe, accessible and efficient way. Although the automotive industry supports LGMSV implementation, actors of the sector expressed concerns to Congress and succeeded in modifying specific articles to benefit the industry.

“Congress made modifications regarding the LGMSV 54th article. Originally, the initiative provided the National Mobility and Road Safety System the faculty of establishing the requirements for new commercialized vehicles in Mexico. The conditions should have been aligned with international regulations, however. This led to a contradiction over regulation and juridical uncertainty regarding what the norm would be and which legal entity should implement it,” said Guillermo Rosales, President, AMDA.  

Another LGMSV change celebrated by the automotive industry was the modification to the 7th article to include the Ministry of Economy (SE) in the National Mobility and Safety Road System. The industry requested SE’s inclusion because the ministry is in charge of emitting and evaluating official norms regarding the requirements that vehicles must fulfill to be distributed in the Mexican market. “If the SE is not included, we would be leaving aside those who represent the future of technological development in Mexico’s vehicle production,” said Ildefonso Guajardo, Deputy, PRI, who promoted this modification.

Although modifications will benefit the automotive industry, civil society organizations were not in favor of reforming the law to meet the interests of the sector. Coalición Movilidad Segura, El Poder del Consumidor and Refleacciona con Responsabilidad published a release expressing concerns on the safety of the vehicles produced for the local market and they requested to maintain the LGMSV as it was to prioritize Mexicans safety instead of the industry commercial interests.

“Our intention is to establish a transparent communication with governmental authorities, the industry, academia and society to collaborate in the public policy development that leads to a mobility ecosystem that promotes safety and the common benefit,” expressed the AMIA.

Currently the industry abides to the 194 official Mexican norm that will continue in force under the LGMSV framework. The LGMSV law puts the safety of pedestrians first, followed by cyclists and non-motorized vehicles users, then public transport services and finally motorized vehicles users. The National Mobility and Safety Road System law will be penned by the federal government and its leadership will alternate between the Transport and Communication Ministry and the Ministry of Urban and Territorial Development.

“With the approval of this law, we enhance safety road conditions within a new regulatory framework that includes an inclusive agenda that will guarantee health, economy and wellness to the Mexican population,” said Pablo Almícar, Deputy, MORENA. Although LGMSV has already been approved, the modifications dictum has returned to Mexico’s Senate to continue with constitutional procedures.