§1184 Over-the-road Bus Security Training Program

Summary

Create rules within 6 months after August 3, 2007 for a security training program to prepare over-the-road bus frontline employees for possible threats. The Secretary must write the rules with input from experts (law enforcement, fire, emergency response, security and terrorism), bus operators, and nonprofit labor groups for bus and emergency workers. The rules must require training that, at a minimum, covers threat assessment; driver and passenger communication; ways to protect yourself; use of protective gear; evacuation plans (including for people with disabilities and the elderly); terrorist behavior and psychology; handling passengers’ and hijackers’ reactions; live drills (such as tunnel evacuations); spotting and reporting dangerous substances and suspicious items; coordinating with emergency responders; operating and maintaining security equipment; and other security topics the Secretary finds appropriate. Within 90 days after the rules are issued, each over-the-road bus operator must create a training program that follows the rules and send it to the Secretary for approval. The Secretary has 60 days to approve or ask for changes, and the operator must reply to comments within 30 days. After approval, the operator must finish training all frontline employees hired more than 30 days before approval within 1 year; employees hired less than 30 days before approval must be trained within their first 60 days on the job. The Secretary will update the rules as threats change, operators must update their programs and train staff in a reasonable time, the training must be part of the National Training Program, and the Secretary must review implementation within 2 years and report the results to Congress (the report may be classified or redacted).