Fear of More Terrorist Attacks Spurs Host of Products to Foil Hijackers

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hile trucks have long been vulnerable to hijacking and, in fact, have been used as weapons, the need to keep any one of hundreds of thousands of trucks from being commandeered for a 9/11-style disaster has breathed new life into software products that expand the vision of security surveillance and monitoring.

Many of the software products coming onto the market are built upon or inspired by digital communications or asset-tracking programs originally designed for other purposes, such as locating loads or monitoring productivity.

Others are wholly new platforms that may launch programs that can provide commercial benefits in addition to increasing security, helping to overcome fleet objections to systems that in the past appeared overly expensive or unnecessary.

A digital mix of cargo seals, biometric identifiers, more powerful onboard computers, electronic tags, wireless telecommunications and global positioning systems can be structured to address a variety of threats, vendors said.

For the full story, see the March 1 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.