The trucking industry is a perfect haven for potential terrorist targets, either in the form of direct targeting of trucks or utilizing large trucks to carry high-risk materials. Large trucks are so prevalent that their movement can go almost unnoticed on the nations highways.
After 9/11, , the trucking industry went through a series of reforms to tighten security. Truckers holding HAZMAT (hazardous material) licenses were required by the Department of Homeland Security to undergo background checks and fingerprinting as well as requiring the transport companies to have detailed security plans. Additionally trucking organizations initiated “highway watch” programs to pool their resources and help truck drivers pick up on potential threats.
Terrorist truck bombs are a growing concern among the trucking industry. An estimated 800,000 trucks transit the U.S. highway infrastructure daily providing terrorists numerous opportunities to target these lone trucks with little planning.
Recent worldwide terrorist attacks have demonstrated the ability of terrorists to target trucking materials, such as the 2002 attack in Tunisia and the 1995 Oklahoma City attack . Last year, the FBI issued a warning (source) of potential fuel-truck attacks in major US cities.
Randy Larsen, an analyst with the Institute for Homeland Security in Alexandria, Va., a nonprofit consulting firm discussed reforms made to HAZMAT trucking since 9/11. “If you gave me a tanker truck and a phosphorous bomb, I could make a huge explosion anywhere I want. Hazmat security should be among the Top 10 national concerns, but we don’t act like it is.”
Of the 800,000 HAZMAT loads that move around the country each day, a recent study by TSA stated that nearly 2 in 5 of those shipments are “extreme risk” such as chlorine, gasoline, radioactive material, and liquefied natural gas. The trucking industry could be forced by the federal government to spend about $5,500 for each truck to use new technologies to reduce truck-bomb threats.
The TSA concluded in 2004 that shipments are “dangerous and ready-made weapons,” and are “especially attractive” to terrorists:
“There is a much sharper realization among hazmat truckers since 9/11 that you’ve got to be more alert,” says John Conley, president of the National Tank Truck Carriers Association. That includes “things as basic as locking your truck. Our drivers understand their loads could be used in a bad way.”
“Normal trucking operations are still an open invitation to a terrorist,” says Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Inc. in Grain Valley, Mo. “Even now, five years later, I don’t know if they’ve really tightened up.”
Industry observers still point to numerous vulnerabilities, posing valid concerns. “My biggest concern is that we’ve got pretty lax security at a lot of trucking terminals,” says a terminal manager for a large liquid bulk HAZMAT carrier on the East Coast. “It’s not uncommon at all to see several tankers already loaded with HAZMAT, and the gates to these facilities are wide open most of the time. It’s inviting trouble.”
Employing technologies as global positioning systems, satellite communications, remote-vehicle disabling devices, and “panic buttons” which send out instant alerts to law enforcement gives truckers the ability to prevent HAZMAT hijackings and other dangerous activities. A Department of Transportation study concluded that the threat could be reduced by possibly 36 percent with the aforementioned technology investments. At the same time, the technologies could save the industry an estimated $4.1 billion through improved operating efficiencies.
“We’re not supporting the mandating of any technology simply because you are a hazardous-materials transporter,” Mr. Conley says. “Tell me what you’re hauling, and we’ll tell if it makes sense.”
Some truckers say the technology is vital. “I don’t know why this technology isn’t moving faster into the industry,” says Reggie Dupre, president of Dupre Transport, which transports a range of hazardous materials in a 350-truck tanker fleet based in Lafayette, La. A yearlong federal test using one of Dupre’s drivers told of an accidental bump of a panic button device. In minutes, police had surrounded the giant rig.
Federal regulations must be imposed on the trucking industry to prevent terrorist hijacking of HAZMAT shipments. Costs of such technology could be passed onto the customer, prompting some to question such technology mandates. However, the protection offered to the American public by such upgrades far outweighs any increased costs. With so many trucks traveling the nation’s highway daily, being proactive plus training the drivers on how to react in real time situations can only add to the safety of not only the driver but also the shipment.
