Briefly: 59 vehicles, 32 drivers placed out of service during NM operation

Apr 7, 2026

New Mexico State Police

From March 29 through April 3 the New Mexico State Police. Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Bureau and Criminal Enforcement Bureau recently conducted what it called a "focused Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Operation" near Clayton in the northeast part of the state near the Oklahoma border.

Strike Team officers, K9 officers, and transportation inspectors performed saturation patrols and establish temporary inspection sites on rural state roads throughout the Clayton area.

The operation resulted in:

• Total Commercial Vehicle Safety Inspections: 698

• Vehicles Out of Service: 59

• Drivers Out of Service: 32

• Cargo Checks: 175

• Moving Violation Citations: 286

• Equipment Violation Citations: 10

• Total CMV Citations: 301

• Transportation Enforcement Inspections: 285

• Overweight Violations: 2

• Portable Weights Conducted: 112

Shell Starship rejoins INDYCAR SERIES

Shell and INDYCAR recently announced that the Shell Starship will return to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES transportation fleet for the 2026 season. It will continue its role as a visible demonstration of advanced, lower-emissions freight technology operating in a motorsports series.

Shell Starship powered by a Cummins X15N natural gas engine and lubricated with Shell Rotella natural gas engine oil, will be the transport vehicle for the INDYCAR Administrative Trailer, traveling to nearly every race on the 2026 calendar.

“Shell Starship is more than a concept; it’s a working demonstration of what’s possible when advanced vehicle design, efficient powertrains and renewable fuels come together,” said Thomas Mueller, general manager of Commercial Road Transport at Shell.

The return builds on a successful debut season in 2025, when Shell Starship joined the series following the Indianapolis 500 and became the first natural gas-powered Class 8 truck to operate within a national racing series fleet in North America. For the 2026 season, the anticipated plans for Starship are to increase the use of renewable natural gas (RNG) compared to the 2025 season.

In addition to its logistics role, Shell Starship will have multiple marquee moments throughout the 2026 season, including:

Leading the truck parade at the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington
Participating in the 500 Festival Parade ahead of the Indianapolis 500
A feature in INDYCAR video game titles for console and PC, produced by iRacing Studios

Blue Water Bridge now busiest crossing

The Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario Canada is now the busiest commercial border crossing between the two countries.

The CBC recently reported the number of crossings of commercial vehicles at the Blue Water Bridge surpassed those at the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

For every month in 2025, the Blue Water Bridge surpassed the Ambassador Bridge, with about 2.1 million commercial truck trips at Sarnia that year compared to roughly 1.9 million at Windsor, according to the CBC's story.

In the first three months of 2926, the Ambassador Bridge saw 496,796 commercial truck trips, compared with 531,732 at the Blue Water Bridge.