President Bush raised the terror alert one level after the July 7 London terrorist attacks, but this time, the increased alert was only for mass transit.
Past U.S. terror alerts have been broader, although in July 2004, officials hiked the threat level to high only for the financial services sector of New York City, northern New Jersey and Washington, D.C.
Security experts say truckers cannot afford to relax their vigilance, however. The American Trucking Associations’ Highway Watch program will provide anti-terrorism and safety training to all transportation professionals at the Great American Trucking Show at the Dallas Convention Center Aug. 25-27.
This month, the White House has raised the threat level from elevated (Code Yellow) to high (Code Orange) only for regional and inter-city passenger rail, subways and metropolitan bus systems.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff requested “increased vigilance throughout the transportation sector” at a press briefing the day of the subway and bus attacks, which killed more than 50 people and left another 700 wounded.
“Currently, the United States has no specific, credible information suggesting an imminent attack here in the United States,” Chertoff said. “However, we know the tactics and methods of terrorists as demonstrated by the horrific rail bombings last year in Madrid.”
For more information on Highway Watch training, call 866-821-3444 or visit www.highwaywatch.com.
