Rogue Trucks
Stopping hijacked rigs by air.
John Bendel
Technology Editor
Tracking and mobile communications technology can tell us exactly where a truck is. It can tell us the truck's heading, how fast it's going and virtually everything the driver can see on the dashboard - and then some.
But if that truck contains dangerous cargo and falls into the wrong hands, or if the authorized driver goes off route and heads for a terrorist target, all that technology can do is let us watch on a computer screen - at least in most instances.
In a few other cases, however, technology takes one more, very big step: It enables someone at that computer screen to disable the truck and bring it to a stop.
The concept has been proven to work many times, including last year's Hazardous Materials Safety and Security Field Operational Test sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (see story page 55).
Experience In Brazil
But remote shutdown is more than a demonstration technology; it has been available, installed and sometimes used in a number of fleets for a number of years. Most of those fleets are in Brazil.
Qualcomm and a local partner introduced OmniTRACs there in 1994. According to Marc Sands, Qualcomm VP and division counsel, the system was introduced as a fleet management tool, but fleet users and security companies quickly recognized its potential in fighting rampant hijacking and theft. After a few minor modifications, OmniTRACS - known in Brazil as AUTOTRAC - provided security-oriented features, among them remote shutdown capability. Qualcomm and its partner now provide service to approximately 30,000 trucks in Brazil.
"They estimate they've recovered over $500 million in cargo," Sands said of Qualcomm's Brazilian fleet customers.
There are some North American fleets with the capability to shut down trucks remotely. They are likely companies involved in moving dangerous materials, gasoline or armaments, for example, but no one is saying exactly which fleets they are - certainly not their technology vendors. In the U.S., the issue of remote shutdown raises red flags at every turn.
The entire subject is under consideration by something called The Commercial Vehicle Security Control Data Commands Taskforce, a group within the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) of the ATA. Its members include virtually all of the truck OEMs, engine makers and providers of major components as well as communications and IT technology providers to the trucking industry.
"It's an excellent effort going on there to develop some good standards on how to approach this disabling process," said Sands.
The job of the taskforce is primarily technological. Members want to come up with standards so that future trucks can be outfitted with necessary equipment - perhaps at the factory - that can function with technology products from different suppliers. For example, a fleet with mobile shutdown capability could switch from one mobile communications provider to another without losing that capability. Software protocols should be standardized for the same reason.
Tougher Issues
But that may be the easy part. The tougher issues involve questions of responsibility - or liability as the case may be.
Who will be responsible for remotely disabling a truck on the road? On the surface, it would appear to be the responsibility of the truck's owner, or management of the fleet in which it's working.
But that is in the absence of any law or regulation requiring such systems. Should government get involved, it might not stop at mandating systems. What if government requires that law enforcement agencies be given access to remote shutdown systems?
"There might not be any argument if it is only used in potentially disastrous situations," said someone close to the taskforce's work. "But once government has its foot in the door, who can say what the next step might be?"
Law enforcement might want to use the system in situations that are short of potential catastrophe, he explained.
But just how short? A truck pursued by police for something other than suspected terrorism? How about a truck suspected of having drugs or contraband aboard? How about a truck whose driver is wanted for a crime? And what kind of crime? Murder? Armed robbery? Embezzlement? Overtime parking?
"What if regulators and tax collectors get their finger on the shut-down button?"
The questions may seem far-fetched right now. After all, we're fighting terrorism. That might not always be the case. Yet remote shutdown capability, once common in the market, won't go away. So the question of who gets to push the button may become much more relevant.
Who's Liable?
Similarly, questions of liability loom. If a truck that has been remotely shut down crashes, who is liable for the damages? Short of specific lawmaking, that question might not be answered until addressed in the courts.
This problem in particular has a direct bearing on the work of the TMC taskforce, which wants to avoid a nightmare situation in which, for example, an engine is remotely cut off as the truck is beginning to descend a long hill.
"Some of the systems in the marketplace, if you cut the ignition you lose the power steering, the brakes. So that isn't the right approach. We believe there are other ways of doing it," Sands said.
"It's the difference between doing a complete shutdown versus a 'limp' mode so there is still an ability to move the truck," Sands explained.
So-called limp mode uses the speed-restriction capability of engine computers to slow a truck down in increments, limiting it to say 30 mph, then 20, then 5, providing every opportunity for the driver to bring the truck to a safe stop.
The taskforce is also concerned about the security of its own deliberations and decisions, especially the technical specifics of its final recommendations.
"You can't make that available to just anybody," said Robert Braswell, TMC's technical director. "It could very well be misused."
Braswell is concerned about technologically savvy people with access to the necessary information. "I imagine you could maliciously cause a vehicle to stop," he said.
Despite such concerns, however, it seems likely that remote shutdown will be coming to more trucks in North America.
Rouge Trucks continued...
