The Arkansas Trucking Association and the American Trucking Associations officially launched the state's Highway Watch program April 6.

The Highway Watch program trains professional truck drivers to recognize and report a variety of incidents on the nation's highways. This program is organized on the national level by ATA and is funded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Second Lt. Brent Jones of the Kansas Highway Patrol taught the first driver training session with a briefing by Walter Purdy, ATA's international security and terrorism adviser.
After the two-hour course each of the 24 drivers in attendance was officially certified as a Highway Watch driver and assigned a personal identification number. Joining the class were officers from the Arkansas State Police who will teach future Arkansas Highway Watch classes.
Arkansas Highway Watch drivers made five calls in their first day alone, reporting two stranded vehicles, one abandoned vehicle and two incidents of hazardous road conditions.
Highway Watch is formed through a network of partnerships, which include the trucking industry, law enforcement agencies, state and federal departments of transportation and other safety allies. Currently there are Highway Watch programs operating in Colorado, Oregon, Florida, Virginia and Kansas, along with a pilot program in Minnesota.
For more information on the Highway Watch program, contact John Willard at (703) 838-1924 or by email at jwillard@trucking.org.