WASHINGTON — Security officers screen bus passengers with handheld metal detectors. Police pull over truckers hauling hazardous materials to check their papers. Railroad workers make extra checks of trains and tracks, reports a wire service.
The world has changed since Sept. 11, and not just for airline passengers. Things are different for those traveling on the ground as well.
While the federal government takes control of airline security, the bus, trucking and railroad industries have had to fend for themselves. Trade groups for all three industries have issued security recommendations, and the Association of American Railroads has hired its own security director.
“We’re burdening 100 percent of the cost. There are no government agencies helping us,” said Paul Karvois, president of Jevic Transportation, a Delanco, N.J., company that owns 3,000 trucks and now requires all of its drivers to wear photo identification badges on the road.
Transportation Department spokesman Jim Mitchell said the industries have been eager to increase security.
“They really want to protect their business assets,” Mitchell said. “Most of it is based on increased awareness and alertness and putting people in places where it’s most critical.”
Like neighborhood watch groups, truck drivers and railroad workers have been asked to keep an eye out for anything suspicious, such as someone hanging around a truck stop or tailing a cargo of hazardous materials.
State and local transportation departments also are on alert, training maintenance workers and construction crews on what to look for.
“We have a lot of people out every day who can spot suspicious behavior and be a part of the solution,” said Jeff Morales, director of the California Transportation Department.
One worry is that a truck loaded with gasoline or other hazardous materials could become a weapon of mass destruction like the four commercial airplanes hijacked Sept. 11.
Adding to that concern is the fact FBI agents investigating the terrorist attacks found that several Middle Eastern men had obtained fraudulent licenses to transport hazardous material. Last week, an Iraqi immigrant pleaded guilty in a Pittsburgh court to a fraud charge for trying to obtain a hazardous materials license.
“We have more men and women driving trucks than we have in military uniform,” said William Canary, president of the American Trucking Associations. “These are trained people to know when someone asks the wrong questions at a truck stop, if something doesn’t look right.”
Today, states keep their truck weigh stations open later so they can inspect more vehicles, and truck drivers report being pulled over for inspections when highway patrols see the diamond-shaped hazardous materials placards on their trailers. Checks that once took 15 minutes now last an hour, and trucking companies have built those delays into their scheduled delivery times.
“Our drivers see police making U-turns across an interstate to stop a truck when it has a placard on it,” Karvois said.
A new anti-terrorism law requires the federal government to conduct background checks of all drivers before issuing or renewing licenses allowing them to haul hazardous materials. The Transportation Department is writing the regulations.
Railroads have always patrolled their tracks to keep trespassers off. Now there are more patrols, and even railroad buffs who like to get up close to take pictures of idling trains can expect to be questioned.
Aboard Amtrak, passengers must show photo identification when buying tickets or checking bags, and they no longer can buy tickets aboard any train between Washington and Boston.
Greyhound requires passengers to show identification in some cities before buying tickets, and uniformed security officers conduct random checks of passengers and baggage with hand-held metal detectors in almost three dozen cities.
The bus company also is checking its vehicles to make sure that no suspicious bags have been left on board, and all drivers are getting cell phones programmed with emergency numbers. The American Bus Association has asked law enforcement authorities to stop using buses to send undesirable individuals out of town.
Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to improve rail and bus security, including $1.8 billion for Amtrak and $200 million for buses.
“As we increase security for aviation, we have to make sure that the other forms of transportation get the attention they need,” said a sponsor of the bus legislation, Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wis., chairman of the House highways and transit subcommittee.