The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill this week to evaluate and address the threat of vehicular terrorism. H.R. 4227, introduced by Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH), was passed by the House on a vote of 417-2 on March 22. There is no companion bill in the Senate at this time.
The House bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to assess the activities it is undertaking to support emergency response providers and the private sector to prevent, mitigate, and respond to the threat of vehicular terrorism, and to submit to Congress within six months a strategy to improve the Department’s efforts to support the efforts of emergency response providers and the private sector to prevent, mitigate, and respond to such threat.
The bill does not require tracking of hazardous materials vehicles or any particular method to respond to terrorist threats. But it asks the DHS to provide recommendations on how to prevent, mitigate and, respond to the threat of using vehicles for terrorism.
The House Report documents the use of commercial trucks in recent years for vehicle ramming attacks by terrorists in the U.S. and worldwide.
Originally posted on the Idealease Safety Bulletin