Proposed bill offers incentive to adopt safety technology

TROY, Mich. – The president and general manager of Meritor WABCO says giving fleets an incentive to adopt new safety technologies will make highways safer for fleet drivers and passenger car drivers alike.

Jon Morrison had nothing but praise for the proposed Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced Safety Technology Tax Act of 2011, introduced by congressmen Geoff Davis (R-KY) and Mike Thompson (D-CA).

“This bill will assist carriers and owner operators to specify safety technologies needed to prevent thousands of crashes annually involving commercial vehicles,” he said.

The bill was introduced on May 4 as H.R. 1706. It would provide an income tax credit for proven advanced safety technologies to owners of commercial trucks, buses and commercial motor vehicle fleets.

Meritor WABCO’s SmartTrac Stability Control System and OnGuard Collision Safety System are safety technologies included in H.R. 1706.

“We strongly support the introduction of this legislation and would like to thank congressmen Davis and Thompson for their continued efforts in advocating for commercial vehicle safety technologies,” said Morrison.

The proposed bill facilitates the accelerated development and deployment of advanced safety systems by providing tax credits to purchasers of commercial vehicles of up to $1,500 per safety system and $3,500 per vehicle. This tax credit, which cannot exceed $350,000 annually per taxpayer, could be used toward the purchase of a wide range of safety equipment.