Highway Watch Says It Had Early Notice of Impending Homeland Security Alert

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he Department of Homeland Security tipped off managers of the Highway Watch program of the impending alerts in New York and Washington several hours before Secretary Tom Ridge told the public Aug. 1, so that employees could brief fleets and prepare for a potential barrage of telephone calls.

Robert Palmer, national media manager for Highway Watch, said the program, a part of American Trucking Associations, called in extra help before Ridge made the public announcement about potential threats to the two cities.

Highway Watch employees notified trucking companies and organizations about the proposed stops and inspections that were instituted later that day, Palmer said. The Highway Watch operations center in ATA’s Alexandria, Va., headquarters is manned 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

The program works with the federal Transportation Security Administration to keep tabs on potential truck-borne terrorism.

For the full story, see the Aug. 9 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.