Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC announced its support of proposed legislation that would provide tax incentives for implementation of commercial vehicle safety technologies.
The Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced Safety Technology Act of 2011 (S 1233) and (HR 1706) would provide a tax credit equal to 50% of the cost of any qualified commercial vehicle safety system placed into service during the tax year. These bills were introduced June 20, 2011, in the US Senate and May 4, 2011, in the House of Representatives.
Both bills recognize brake stroke monitoring systems, lane departure warning systems, collision warning/mitigation systems, and vehicle stability systems as technologies that have the potential to improve overall highway safety. Bendix manufactures technologies that fall into some of these categories.
Offering tax incentives to fleets and owner-operators that use one or more of the active safety technologies included in the bills could help drivers improve highway safety and potentially mitigate roadway accidents. Using these safety technologies may be especially important for fleets, owner-operators, and drivers in the today's new CSA (Compliance, Safety, and Accountability) trucking environment.
Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report that between 1999 and 2009, more than 57,000 fatalities resulted from almost 50,000 crashes involving large trucks and buses. Bendix believes these bills have the potential to significantly accelerate implementation of safety technologies such as electronic stability control and collision mitigation.
HR 1706 was sponsored by Reps Geoff Davis (R-KY) and Michael Thompson (D-CA). It is currently co-sponsored by Reps Peter DeFazio (D-OR), David Dreier (R-CA), Michael Michaud (D-ME), Gary Peters (D-MI), Sue Myrick (R-NC), and Heath Shuler (D-NC). S 1233 was sponsored by Sen Debbie Anne Stabenow (D-MI).