ATA Urges Transport Security Agency to Bypass Hazmat Fingerprint Checks

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merican Trucking Associations has recommended that the government bypass fingerprint background checks for hazardous materials drivers and instead wait until a universal federal transportation credential program is available.

In a May 19 letter to the Transportation Security Administration, ATA said it would “recommend commencing with the name-based checks of drivers as proposed by TSA and holding off on the fingerprint-based check until the [Transportation Worker Identification Credential] program is fully deployed.”

TSA has delayed several times publishing a regulation outlining a process for checking the criminal backgrounds of truck drivers with hazmat endorsements. The security agency issued an interim final rule requiring those checks on July 7, 2003.

The most recent delay was April, when TSA announced it would not begin checking driver fingerprints until after Jan. 31, 2005.

For the full story, see the May 31 edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.