THE COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM HAS PROVISIONS FOR REAL-TIME WARNING OR ALERT CONDITIONS AT EACH VEHICLE ENROUTE OR PARKED AT A FREIGHT DEPOT, AS WELL AS AN AUDIT TRAIL OF ALL VEHICLE MOVEMENTS AND TRANSACTIONS. A TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM IS PRESENTED AND THE FINDINGS OF SYSTEM CHECKOUT TESTING AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS ARE DOCUMENTED. LEAA FUNDED A TEST PROGRAM WITHIN THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF THE OVERALL SECURITY SYSTEM, AND TO IDENTIFY THE SYSTEM'S OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS. THE PROGRAM WAS CONDUCTED IN LOS ANGELES, CALIF., WITH A FLEET OF 40 VEHICLES EQUALLY DIVIDED BETWEEN TWO INDEPENDENT TRUCKING OPERATIONS. THE TWO PHASES OF THE TEST CONSISTED OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF THE SYSTEM, AND THE EVALUATION OF THE SYSTEM'S IMPACT ON CARGO HANDLING. THE SYSTEM ITSELF INCORPORATED AN AUTOMATIC VEHICLE LOCATION SUBSYSTEM WHICH UTILIZED RADIO SIGNALS, A VEHICLE SENSOR AND PROCESSNG SUBSYSTEM, A DATA PROCESSING SUBSYSTEM, AND AN INTERLINKING COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE STATE-OF-THE-ART OF VEHICLE MONITORING WAS MATERIALLY ADVANCED BY THE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION OF THE COST-EFFECTIVE SYSTEM. DESCRIPTIONS OF THE OPERATION OF THE SECURITY SYSTEM ARE PROVIDED, WITH A REVIEW OF THE DESIGN AND TEST ACTIVITIES. ALTHOUGH THE TEST ITSELF WAS CURTAILED BECAUSE OF RADIO INTERFERENCE WITH OUTSIDE BROADCASTERS, THE TESTING OF THE INDIVIDUAL SENSORS AND THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK INDICATED THAT THE DISPATCH STATIONS AND ALARMS WERE CAPABLE OF ACCURATELY REFLECTING THE CORRECT STATUS OF ALL THE VEHICLES. OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS WERE NOTED IN VEHICLE NOISE INTERFERENCE, AND FREIGHT YARD COMMUNICATION COVERAGE IN SPECIFIC AREAS. THE KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE THE INDICATION THAT VEHICLE LOCATION SYSTEMS CAN PROVIDE WIDE AREA COVERAGE AT MINIMUM COST AND THAT THE USE OF SINGLE CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS IS PRACTICAL. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT A CLEAR RADIO CHANNEL SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED FOR THE CARGO SECURITY SYSTEM, AND THAT THE INSTALLATION PLANNING SHOULD PROVIDE FOR THE CORRECTION OF VEHICLE ELECTRICAL NOISE PROBLEMS. SEE ALSO NCJ 53735-53736. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--TWK)