Anti-terror plan calls on drivers to be ‘America’s Trucking Army’

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (May 13, 2002) — The American Trucking Associations today will roll out an anti-terrorism action plan that includes training truck drivers and truck stop employees to spot and report suspicious activities that might have terrorism or national security implications.

The ATA, the country’s largest lobby group for the trucking industry, said drivers will be “the eyes and ears of America’s Trucking Army.”

The plan is a coordinated effort of the Trucking Security Working Group, a task force of transportation organizations in the United States and Canada.

The first phase of the plan involves training truck drivers to spot suspicious activity and report it to a call centre using a toll-free phone number. The information will then be screened and sent quickly to proper federal and state authorities for prompt action.

The ATA said a colour-coded security threat-alert system matched to the system used by the U.S. Office of Homeland Security — alert levels range from green, or a low risk of terrorist attacks, to red, with a severe risk of attacks — will determine the intensity of industry security activities.

The group said its security plan escalates as alert levels rise by increasing driver vigilance of interstate highways, bridges, tunnels and seaports, activating driver-dispatcher check-ins, and adding regular broadcasts of cargo theft and hijackings. Updated threat information from federal authorities would also be broadcast to drivers.

The association also called for Improved industry access to information databases for security and criminal background checks of commercial truck drivers and possibly other employees in sensitive positions.