RECORD SUMMER PUSHES HIGHWAY WATCH® NUMBERS OVER 400,000 TRAINED

Large number of School Bus Watch trainees will help make August another record month

 

ALEXANDRIA, VA-In just three short months, the Highway Watch® program trained over 100,000 transportation professionals nationwide pushing overall enrollment to over 400,000.

 

Formed by ATA in 1998, Highway Watch® began as a safety awareness program for truck drivers; and since spring 2002 includes anti-terrorism training. In March 2004, ATA entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expand Highway Watch® and provide anti-terrorism and safety training to the entire surface transportation sector including truck drivers, mass transit workers, emergency first responders, law enforcement personnel, and school bus drivers, among others.

 

"This has truly been an amazing summer for the Highway Watch® program," said VP of Highway Watch® Bill Jacobs. "The program continues to gain momentum with both truck drivers and School Bus Watch trainees helping to drive the record numbers throughout the summer. We're pleased with the tremendous commitment these industries have made to keeping America safe and secure."

 

Highway Watch®-trained transportation professionals contact emergency personnel through a special telephone hotline - providing emergency responders with precise location and incident information. A trained operator at the Highway Watch® Call Center verifies the highway transportation professional's identity (each participant has a unique Highway Watch® ID number) and location and then routes the call to the appropriate law enforcement authorities. Additionally, if a call is security-related, a report of the incident is forwarded to the Highway Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) where it is shared with government intelligence officials and other law enforcement agencies.

 

Highway transportation sector professionals are welcome to join Highway Watch® by calling the national toll free number at 1-866-821-3444 or visiting the website at www.highwaywatch.com.