WASHINGTON, (March 1, 2004) — The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, along with a dozens of trucking carriers, shippers, truck OEMs, and Intelligent Transportation Systems providers took part in the final Hazardous Materials Safety and Security Field Operational Test last week.

The test demonstrated the effectiveness of ITS technology solutions in an effort to facilitate a government plan to track all hazmat shipments in the U.S and possibly stop the vehicles remotely if they were to be commandeered by terrorists for the purposes of an attack.

The FMCSA deployment team has been installing and testing technology and equipment in various locations throughout the U.S. over the past six months. The team is now entering the final stages of its 18-month, $5 million deployment test program.

In the solution being tested, smart cards are used by drivers in conjunction with fingerprint scanners to validate driver identities and record drop-off, pickup, and truck start-up events. The smart cards contain predetermined driver-specific information and a biometric fingerprint template for each driver, and are integrated with a global login system, which will record each verification event and alert dispatchers if an unauthorized person attempts to operate the truck. Moreover, through further GPS technology, truck ignition and braking systems can be controlled remotely by dispatchers in the event of an alert.

The field test team includes government agencies like the FMCSA; enforcement groups like the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance; shippers and carriers such as ExxonMobil, BP Chemical, and Roadway Express; truck and engine OEMs like Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Freightliner Trucks, and International Truck and Engine; and ITS technology providers like QUALCOMM, which is producing the global login system, and SAFLINK — formerly the Biometric Solutions Group — which has developed a fingerprint hazardous materials tracking system.