On Guard at Sentinel
OLIVER B. PATTON
WASHINGTON EDITOR
Rick Preston, vice president for safety and regulatory affairs at Sentinel Transportation, has two nightmares.
In the first, a Sentinel driver is killed by a terrorist hijacker, which would be a horrific loss to a company that has lost just one employee in 17 years to a work-related accident. In the second scenario, the company is "sucked into the middle of the next catastrophe."
What makes it particularly scary — aside from the risks associated with Sentinel's hazardous cargoes — is that trucks are vulnerable, said Preston. "It is not overly complicated to steal one."
Perhaps worse, a truck can be taken without anyone noticing.
Part of the challenge is to keep drivers alert. As the immediate horror of Sept. 11 fades and routine sets the daily rhythm, people tend to become complacent. This tendency is compounded by the nature of the job. Drivers are, by virtue of their profession, good at denial. "They continue to climb into the cab each day even though they know it is a dangerous job," Preston said.
In a way, Sentinel's experience with suspicious characters inquiring about tank capacity, and other, similar incidents, works to its advantage. Preston makes sure that the word gets out.
"We've had close calls — but it makes people pay attention."
For security, he favors cell phones over satellite communications systems, which he says are easy to disable. He also sends security reminders via email regularly to all terminals. To secure the trucks themselves, he has asked Sentinel mechanics to come up with simple ways to keep an unauthorized person from starting the engine. And, he believes in visible deterrence, such as gladhand locks.
"We can't make the truck theft-proof," he acknowledged. "But we want to make it as complicated as possible for the thief."
The mainstay of Sentinel's program is driver training — what to watch for, how to communicate. Drivers as a group are patriotic, Preston observed. "In every training session there's a driver who will say, "They'll get my truck over my dead body."
Preston's message is, cool it. "We need you alive, giving us information, not dead."
From the government, Preston wants background checks for all drivers. Such checks will not be foolproof, he admits. "But they will raise the overall level of security."
Another concern: the barriers to entry for would-be hazmat carriers are low. Practically anyone can buy a truck, get the licenses and start a small operation, he said. He sees a high level of vigilance among chemical haulers, due in part to the culture of that industry, but relatively less control in the 24-hour-per-day petroleum industry.
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