ITS and the battle against terrorism

Following the murderous events in Paris, investigators will be looking at how the terrorists’ plans could have been detected and foiled and why that did not happen in this case. Full details are not yet known but from the press reports it appears that there were several missed opportunities which centre on travel and transport: A car stopped by the German police was found to contain weapons and had a Paris address programed into its satellite navigation; the ‘mastermind’ has travelled undetected from Syria,
November 30, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

Following the murderous events in Paris, investigators will be looking at how the terrorists’ plans could have been detected and foiled and why that did not happen in this case. Full details are not yet known but from the press reports it appears that there were several missed opportunities which centre on travel and transport: A car stopped by the German police was found to contain weapons and had a Paris address programed into its satellite navigation; the ‘mastermind’ has travelled undetected from Syria, another two participants had travelled from Belgium in hired cars. After the atrocities took place another suspect is reported to have been stopped on their way to the Belgian border and then released.

If those initial reports turn out to be correct, then there are clearly internal communications issues for the security services to address but beyond that they will be looking at how such networks can be detected and their plots foiled. While the detection will probably centre on intercepting communications, preventing the perpetrators from arranging, equipping and carrying out their murderous deeds is likely to involve disrupting their travel plan. The reality is that the systems employed by the transportation sector are better equipped to detecting – or being modified to detect – the movement of marked individuals and suspect vehicles than any others currently deployed.

So in addition to tighter border controls, the response to Paris could involve road authorities, car hire and car share companies and transit operators having to monitor traffic and travellers for marked individuals. Furthermore, if one or more of these individuals is detected, there is likely to be a duty to inform the relevant authority.

While it probably won’t be long before we know the outcomes of these security reviews it seems clear that the transportation sector will be involved in countering future plots. Therefore it would be preferable for transportation authorities to participate in these conversations from the outset, rather than waiting for regulations to be imposed from on high.

Related Content

  • Australia’s Transurban to trial road user charging
    March 27, 2015
    Speaking at a major industry forum, Scott Charlton, CEO of Australian toll roads operator, Transurban, said that the country’s major cities risk a decline in liveability without major investment in transport systems and an overhaul of transport funding model. Charlton said that despite significant progress by state governments traditional funding systems were outdated, unsustainable and unfair, and cannot sustain the funding needed to address Australia’s transport infrastructure deficit. Charlton said it
    Read More
  • Need for standardisation of toll classes
    March 2, 2012
    In a previous article Bob Lees of Idris Technology Ltd looked at the appropriateness of toll classes in relation to all-electronic toll fee collection. Here, he looks at how addressing classification standardisation could avoid downstream aggravation and cost
    Read More
  • German authorities use CB-radio message to reduce accidents in roadworks
    April 8, 2014
    Citizen Band radio is proving useful to prevent accidents in Germany’s roadworks. In common with other German Länder (federal regions) with large volumes of commercial vehicles using their trunk road networks, Bavaria had been experiencing high levels of road traffic accidents (RTAs) involving heavy trucks in the vicinity of minor motorway maintenance sites. This was despite the extensive visual warning regulations published in the German federal road safety audit (RSA) guidelines for the protection of site
    Read More
  • Wi-Fi win-win for mass transit
    October 31, 2014
    David Crawford explores passenger and operator benefits of on-board Wi-Fi Urban commuters’ growing demand for continuous – and reliable - internet connectivity is spurring network operators into the rapid installation of high-grade Wi-Fi access on their surface and underground networks, as well as in their stations. Such moves are often a key part of strategies to maintain and increase ridership levels.
    Read More

Highlighted Content