ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Trucking Associations is reiterating its call to have the upcoming Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program streamlined with active security standards truckers are already complying with.

The rule requires truck drivers who access ports — and eventually other “safety sensitive” facilities — do undergo yet another set of background checks and biometric security protocols.

One background check and one credential for truck drivers would advance port security and benefit commerce, a top U.S. trucking executive testified before Congress on behalf of ATA.

TSA is considering “contactless” biometric readers
as part of the TWIC credentialing system

Speaking before the House Committee on Small Business, Philip Byrd, Sr., president and CEO of Bulldog Hiway Express, said that while the trucking industry supports TWIC’s security objective, the program should be modified to remove unnecessary burdens on trucking companies and to ensure intended security benefits.

Byrd, whose Charleston, S.C.-based company hauls container freight in and out of seaports, urged the Committee and the Transportation Security Administration to return to TWIC’s “initial moorings” by implementing a single, coordinated, cost-effective process for screening transportation workers that would enhance the nation’s security while minimizing unnecessary costs and procedures.

In recent years, multiple background checks that require applicants to appear at different enrollment facilities, adapt to different administrative procedures and pay steep user fees have been imposed on truck drivers under a variety of mandates. TSA, for example, has implemented different background check processes for truck drivers obtaining hazmat endorsements and going to secure airport areas. These result in hefty bills for motor carriers and multiple cards for drivers, says Byrd.

Both the ATA and the Canadian Trucking Alliance have asked the TSA to allow the FAST card to be used in place of TWIC for those truckers who have already obtained a similar security clearance through that process.

Meanwhile, this week the International Biometric Association is meeting with the TSA in the hopes of convincing the federal agency to include “contactless” readers as part of the TWIC credentialing system.

Smart cards containing the technology were tested during a yearlong prototype phase, which the IBA says was a success.