By Terry Horne, The Indianapolis Star
About 45 truckers and 20 state highway workers today launched the first class in a training program that Indiana State Police and Homeland Security officials hope will lead to more than 10,000 sets of eyes keeping watch for terrorists in Indiana.
“You’re everywhere that the country needs to have an ear or an eye available,” Kenneth D. Strickland, state director of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, told the recruits.
Indiana is the 24th state to join the Highway Watch program, sponsored by the American Trucking Association, trucking companies and state police.
The two-hour class is designed to teach commercial drivers and highway workers what sort of suspicious activity to look for and provide them one number to call, regardless of their location in Indiana.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said David Finley, 33, a driver from Indianapolis for Roadway Express, who volunteered to attend the class on his day off. “Me myself, I have never really seen anything that was along the lines of terrorism.”
But what he has seen in 12 years of driving is a lot of accidents, and state police want truckers to report those, too, as well as participate in any Amber Alerts for missing children.
The first class was held at the State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division on the city’s Southwestside, 5252 Decatur Blvd.
The two-hour class trains drivers to look for people possibly casing an area, by taking pictures or marking off distances, for example, or rehearsing a possible terrorist attack.
“It’s basically just good common sense,” said State Police Sgt. Rod Russell, an instructor.
John Willard, a spokesman for the American Trucking Association, estimated that the cost of training drivers in Indiana will run from $10,000 to $15,000, paid for with federal grants.
The Indiana Motor Truck Association, which will arrange courses for drivers around the state, hopes to train 10,000 drivers during the next year. Trucking companies or interested drivers can call the association at 1-317-630-4682.