Safety technology tax credit bill reintroduced – April 2009

By CCJ Staff

Published April 29, 2009

The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association and its heavy-duty affiliate association, the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association, Friday, April 24, lauded two legislators for reintroducing a measure that would provide tax credits to help facilitate the accelerated adopting of advanced safety systems for commercial vehicles.

The Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced Safety Technology Tax Act of 2009 (H.R. 2024), reintroduced by Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and Geoff Davis (R-Ky.) on Wednesday, April 22, would provide tax credits to help facilitate the accelerated adopting of advanced safety systems for commercial vehicles.

The bill includes electronic brake stroke monitoring systems, vehicle stability systems (electronic stability control and roll stability control), lane-departure warning systems (with blind spot detection) and collision warning systems (with adaptive cruise control). The legislation will encompass both the original equipment (OE) and aftermarket installation of these safety systems.

The bill also would:

Create a tax credit for fleet owners, valued at 50 percent of the retail cost of the system with a maximum of $1,500 per technology;

Allow fleets to purchase multiple technologies, but limit the total amount of tax credit permissible to $3,500 per vehicle; and

Allow the overall tax credit for each truck owner or trucking company of up to $350,000 per year for all covered technology purchases.

“These tax credits will provide the necessary incentive for heavy-duty vehicle operators, especially those that are small to medium-sized companies and independent owner-operators, to purchase and install these safety-enhancing technologies in order to protect against traffic fatalities and injuries,” says Tim Kraus, HDMA president and chief operating officer.

Thompson and Davis were joined by 10 other original co-sponsors of H.R. 2024, which will make a wider range of safety equipment more affordable in order to meet heavy-duty vehicle owners and fleets’ specific needs.

“Safety on our nation’s highways has always been one of my primary concerns,” Thompson says. “With over 9 million large trucks and over 830,000 buses registered in the United States, accidents involving commercial vehicles continue to be a problem. Safety technologies can work hand-in-hand with regular safety enforcement in further reducing traffic fatalities and injuries. This legislation will provide the necessary incentives in installing these devices on large trucks, transit and school buses to help protect the commuting public.”