Terrorist Attack: Could Technology Avert Disaster?
Imagine the nightmare scenario: In a coordinated attack, terrorists hijack a half-dozen gasoline tankers in a major city and speed toward targets where they intend to detonate the gasoline to catastrophic effect.
Suppose that either the drivers or the equipment have some way to communicate, such as a cellphone, a panic button, an off-route alert system, satellite or terrestrial tracking or some other off-the-shelf technology. Either automatically or by the driver's action, a message goes out to dispatch that something is wrong.
Right now, it would be difficult to pass on the information to law enforcement and emergency responders in time to stop all of the attackers. But according to Thomas Moses, president of Spill Center, it doesn't have to be that way.
Moses has been working with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and other groups to test a system that will automatically alert emergency responders when something out-of-the ordinary happens. The system also is designed to close the communications loop by relaying messages out to drivers who need to be warned that something is wrong.
At the heart of the system is a computer that can translate the signals from any off-the-shelf communications technology into messages that can be routed to local emergency responders. Carriers and emergency responders would voluntarily link their systems to this computer, which would use pattern recognition to distinguish between ordinary communications traffic and an extraordinary event.
In this instance, police would learn about the hijacking as soon as the first signal is sent. It also would be possible for authorities to get crucial information about the cargo, where the hijacking happened and, if the truck has an onboard tracking system that has not been disabled, and where the truck is now headed.
This idea arises from the electronic emergency response service that Spill Center already provides trucking clients who want to minimize the risk of hazmat spills. Moses said the technology is not complicated, works well and is not expensive. He said the system would have safeguards to protect a carrier's proprietary information.
The Public Sector Reporting Center, as the system is called, is one of a number of technologies FMCSA has tested as part of a large-scale project aimed at improving hazmat transport security.
The tests included wireless communications (satellite and terrestrial), digital cellular phones and panic buttons. Also tested were driver authentication devices such as wireless login, and an electronic supply chain manifest, which uses biometric identification and smart cards through wireless communication to control hazmat shipments. Also: "intelligent onboard computers," which can be linked to wireless communications to disable a vehicle in an emergency; electronic cargo seals, routing and mapping software that can be used to define a high-risk area; and untethered trailer tracking.
These devices and systems were tested in a variety of scenarios involving different kinds of trucking operations - truckload, LTL, hazmats, for example. Among the participating carriers and shippers were BP Chemicals, ExxonMobil, Roadway Express and Transport Service Co. Industry suppliers who participated were Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Freightliner and International.
Moses was not able to say what recommendations FMCSA will make. It is possible, he said, that the testing could lead to a rulemaking, although the agency appears to favor a voluntary approach. The final report on the project, which is supposed to quantify the costs and benefits of the systems, is due in September.
Trucking & Terrorism continued...
