§ 1184 — Over-the-road Bus Security Training Program

(a) Not later than 6 months after August 3, 2007, the Secretary shall develop and issue regulations for an over-the-road bus training program to prepare over-the-road bus frontline employees for potential security threats and conditions. The regulations shall take into consideration any current security training requirements or best practices. (b) The Secretary shall develop regulations under subsection (a) in consultation with— (1) appropriate law enforcement, fire service, emergency response, security, and terrorism experts; (2) operators providing over-the-road bus transportation; and (3) nonprofit employee labor organizations representing over-the-road bus employees and emergency response personnel. (c) The regulations developed under subsection (a) shall require security training programs, to include, at a minimum, elements to address the following, as applicable: (1) Determination of the seriousness of any occurrence or threat. (2) Driver and passenger communication and coordination. (3) Appropriate responses to defend or protect oneself. (4) Use of personal and other protective equipment. (5) Evacuation procedures for passengers and over-the-road bus employees, including individuals with disabilities and the elderly. (6) Psychology, behavior, and methods of terrorists, including observation and analysis. (7) Training related to psychological responses to terrorist incidents, including the ability to cope with hijacker behavior and passenger responses. (8) Live situational training exercises regarding various threat conditions, including tunnel evacuation procedures. (9) Recognition and reporting of dangerous substances, suspicious packages, and situations. (10) Understanding security incident procedures, including procedures for communicating with emergency response providers and for on-scene interaction with such emergency response providers. (11) Operation and maintenance of security equipment and systems. (12) Other security training activities that the Secretary considers appropriate. (1) Not later than 90 days after the Secretary issues the regulations under subsection (a), each over-the-road bus operator shall develop a security training program in accordance with such regulations and submit the program to the Secretary for approval. (2) Not later than 60 days after receiving a security training program under this subsection, the Secretary shall approve the program or require the over-the-road bus operator that developed the program to make any revisions to the program that the Secretary considers necessary for the program to meet the requirements of the regulations. An over-the-road bus operator shall respond to the Secretary’s comments not later than 30 days after receiving them. (3) Not later than 1 year after the Secretary approves a security training program in accordance with this subsection, the over-the-road bus operator that developed the program shall complete the training of all over-the-road bus frontline employees who were hired by the operator more than 30 days preceding such date. For such employees employed less than 30 days by an operator preceding such date, training shall be completed within the first 60 days of employment. (4) The Secretary shall periodically review and update, as appropriate, the training regulations issued under subsection (a) to reflect new or changing security threats. Each over-the-road bus operator shall revise its training program accordingly and provide additional training as necessary to its employees within a reasonable time after the regulations are updated. (e) The Secretary shall ensure that the training program developed under subsection (a) is a component of the National Training Program established under section 748 of this title. (f) Not later than 2 years after the date of regulation issuance, the Secretary shall review implementation of the training program of a representative sample of over-the-road bus operators and over-the-road bus frontline employees, and report to the appropriate congressional committees of such reviews. The Secretary may submit the report in both classified and redacted formats as necessary.