26 July 2002

Trucks Tracked to Improve Security at Canadian Border

In an effort to prevent terrorist attacks on the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, the US government has awarded a Detroit ferry company a $135,000 grant to develop a computerized system designed to identify and track trucks as they approach the Canada-US border.

The goal is to prevent trucks carrying dangerous goods from illegally crossing the bridge and tunnel.

Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry Inc. will develop and test the tracking database system on trucks carrying hazardous materials that are banned from the bridge and tunnel. The database will document truckers' commercial driver's license information, their cargo invoices in detail, a summary of previous crossings and data on the truck's registration.

The company expects to begin a trial run of the system by September.