In Brief

Truckers on Patrol

Dana Starrett drives trucks. And he fights terrorism.

By Al Sacco

June 01, 2005 — CSO — In May 1998, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration joined forces to launch Highway Watch, a program that encourages all transportation workerstruck drivers, toll collectors, bridge builders and othersto monitor and report suspicious activity on the interstates. The federal government stepped in during March 2004 with $19.3 million to cooperate with ATA and expand the program. Then in September, the Department of Homeland Security threw in an additional $21 million. With more than 70,000 volunteers already on board, the goal is to reach 200,000 participants by the end of July, according to Highway Watch spokesman John Willard.

Commercial truck and bus drivers, school bus drivers, highway maintenance crews and toll collectors, among others, can receive training from law enforcement and security personnel under the Highway Watch grant. The primary objective of the program is to minimize the potential threat of terrorists using large vehicles or hazardous cargo as weapons by educating transportation professionals to recognize and report unusual activity.

Dana Starrett, a driver for TMC Transportation, recently attended a Highway Watch training class at TMC headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa. Starrett says he's now more observant when on the road. "I catch myself looking a little more closely than I did before."

To report suspicious activities, participants use cell phones and CB radios to contact emergency personnel through a Highway Watch hotline. The Highway ISAC, a team of trained and experienced transportation security professionals, works with DHS and law enforcement to detect, assess and analyze incidents that could pose a threat to national security.