Department of Homeland Security personnel, trucking industry executives and other transportation industry decisionmakers this week concluded the second Highway Watch disaster planning and response exercise, which simulated four challenging terrorist attack scenarios for truck transportation operations.
In the simulations, terrorists detonated a water truck converted to a bomb, simultaneously attacked three tanker trucks at strategic locations, detonated a car bomb aboard an automobile transporter at the U.S./Canadian border, and detonated another bomb planted in an intermodal container while onboard a train. The disaster planning exercise was conducted in cooperation with Mississippi State University Dec. 13-15 in Alexandria, Va. and Canton, Miss.
“For decades, terrorists have targeted the transportation industry in countries around the world, and it’s not unrealistic to assume that similar attacks can take place here on U.S. soil,” says Bill Jacobs, vice president of Highway Watch. “The best defense that we can have for a future disaster is to be fully prepared. This week’s exercise has helped us take a big step forward in developing a viable and comprehensive disaster response plan for the surface transportation industry.”
