Highway Watch

Highway Watch^® is the roadway sector’s national safety and security program that uses the skills, experiences and “road smarts” of America’s transportation workers to help protect the nation’s critical infrastructure and the transportation of goods, services and people.

The program conducts anti-terrorism and safety awareness training for highway professionals, and then shares and analyzes observations collected from its members though its Highway Watch Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC). The Highway Watch ISAC works collaboratively with law enforcement, federal intelligence agencies, and transportation industry leaders. In addition to sharing information, Highway Watch helps to enhance preparedness in transportation through its Emergency Planning and Education Center (EPEC). Through research and technology demonstrations, the EPEC helps the transportation sector to be ready for potential terrorist attacks or natural disasters.

Highway Watch helps make the nation safer and more secure by bringing together the best resources of the nation’s transportation professionals and partnering with the nation’s homeland security and law enforcement professionals.

Highway Watch participants — transportation infrastructure construction, maintenance and operations personnel workers; commercial and public truck and bus drivers, truck drivers, transit personnel, and school bus drivers; and other highway sector professionals — are specially trained to recognize potential safety and security threats and avoid becoming terrorist targets. The Highway Watch effort seeks to prevent terrorists from using large vehicles or hazardous cargoes as weapons.

Highway Watch has recently added a new component to its program, School Bus Watch, which is specifically targeted to the needs of school bus drivers.

Highway Watch training provides Highway Watch participants with the observational tools and the opportunity to exercise their expert understanding of the transportation environment to report safety and security concerns rapidly and accurately to the authorities. In addition to matters of homeland security, Highway Watch reports stranded vehicles or accidents, unsafe road conditions, and other safety related situations to the appropriate emergency responders. Highway Watch reports are combined with other information sources and shared with both federal agencies and the roadway transportation sector by the Highway Watch Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Highway Watch ISAC).

There are four major components of the Highway Watch program:

• Training, recruitment and outreach
• Operations support, including a 24/7/365 call center
• The Highway Watch Information Sharing and Analysis Center
• The Emergency Planning and Education Center