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This story appears in the May 4 print edition of Transport Topics.

A pair of congressmen introduced legislation late last month to provide tax credits for fleets purchasing four types of safety technology.

The bill would provide a 50% tax credit — up to $1,500 per system — for brake stroke monitoring systems, vehicle stability systems, lane-departure warning systems and collision warning systems.

Introduced by Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and Geoff Davis (R-Ky.) on April 22, the legislation is similar to prior bills introduced in earlier sessions of Congress.

“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,” Thompson said in a statement. “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.”

Davis said that “by increasing the safety of our roadways, we can reduce both the human and economic costs of highway accidents.”

“In addition to improving safety,” he said, “the bill will stimulate manufacturing to create and preserve jobs in these tough economic times.”

Besides the $1,500 per-system cap, the bill also sets a benefit ceiling at $3,500 per vehicle for vehicles using several technologies and the maximum benefit to an entire fleet at $350,000 annually.

Ten other members of the House, including Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), chairman of the House Highway and Transit Subcommittee, have co-sponsored the proposal.

Industry groups praised the bill’s introduction.

Tim Kraus, president of the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association, called the bill “critical.”

“These technologies will have a tremendous positive impact in ensuring the safety of the traveling public,” he said.

“We support this bill for two reasons,” said Dave Osiecki, vice president of safety, security and operations for American Trucking Associations. “First, these ad-vanced safety systems have the potential to address some of the most prevalent large-truck crash types and key factors associated with crashes; and, [second,] the incentive-based approach is an excellent way to promote voluntary adoption in the near term.”

Stephen Campbell, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, called the bill “the right thing to do.”

“It is about encouraging investment in safety through the purchase and installation of technologies on trucks and buses that have been tested and proven to work,” he said. “It will reduce the deaths occurring from the most prevalent truck and bus crash types on our highways, which have been hovering around 5,000 per year for the last decade.”

Campbell said CVSA was pushing “to gain as much support as possible for this legislation to ensure it was a high priority for consideration in the Department of Transportation’s reauthorization bill.”

The bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, and a companion measure was expected to be introduced in the Senate soon, CVSA said.