Friday,
September 6, 2002
FMCSA
18-02
Contact:
Dave Longo
Telephone:
202-366-0456
USDOT to Test Effectiveness
of High Tech Systems For Protecting Hazardous Materials on Trucks
As part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s effort
to protect the nation against terrorists, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman
Y. Mineta today announced the start of an Intelligent Transportation Systems
(ITS) operational test to measure the effectiveness of safety and security
technologies and procedures for safeguarding hazardous materials being
transported by trucks. Private and
public sector participants have committed significant cost sharing for the
project, in effect doubling the buying power of the $2.5 million being provided
by the federal government.
“This public-private partnership will help ensure the
safety and security of our highways, urban centers, national landmarks, and
national institutions,” Secretary Mineta said. “Successful operational testing of new
technology for enhancing security may speed up use by industry and provide
better protection against terrorists,” Secretary Mineta said.
The purpose of the test is to assess the effectiveness of
different technologies and procedures and determine the costs and benefits of
each to the safety and security of hazardous materials being transported by
trucks. The test will independently
assess which combination of technology and procedures is the safest and most
cost-effective for protecting different types of hazardous cargo from being
hijacked by terrorists.
The two-year effort will include 100 trucks equipped with a
variety of existing technologies.
The project will test capabilities such as biometric driver verification,
off-route vehicle alerts, stolen vehicle alerts, cargo tampering alerts and
remote vehicle disabling.
The USDOT has awarded the contract for this project to the
Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, OH. The Battelle team includes the
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, the American Transportation Research
Institute (formerly the ATA Foundation), Qualcomm, Inc., Total Security Services
International, Inc, and several motor carrier companies and technology component vendors.
There are nearly 800,000 daily shipments of hazardous
materials on U.S. highways.
This project is a joint effort involving several USDOT agencies. Led by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the test is largely funded by the USDOT’s Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (JPO). The team includes technical experts from JPO as well as from the Research and Special Programs Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and the USDOT Office of Intermodalism.
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