Tool Tax on Jacks

A quick update on the Tool Tax Relief campaign we launched in January with our sister magazine, Automotive Parts & Technology. A bill that would amend the Income Tax Act to cover the capital cost of tools over $250 and the cost of maintaining and insuring them passed second reading in the House of Commons on May 30-with the support of both Finance Minister Paul Martin and Industry Minister John Manley.

Bill C-205, introduced by Michel Guimond of the Bloc Quebecois, passed by a vote of 213 to 11. Even though Parliament has recessed for the summer, the bill now moves to the Standing Committee on Finance, which has been known to meet out of session. Once through committee, the bill would come back to the House of Commons for a third and final reading-as long as Parliament is not dissolved for a federal election.

“The fact that the bill has had such success is very unusual,” admits Guimond, who said technicians in his own riding convinced him of the need for tax reform. “It’s not often in the House of Commons that an opposition member has a private members bill pass on the second reading.”

While the bill is considered a longshot to pass-the second reading was a free vote-Guimond said he hoped lawmakers would use tool tax relief as an election issue.

“I’m sure Paul Martin’s intention was to vote against my bill, but when he saw the back-benchers on the fifth row standing up and voting for my bill, he stood up too, giving the signal to all Liberals to vote in favor,” Guimond explained.

“I reminded Liberal back-benchers that this fall or perhaps next spring we are all going on the campaign trail, and when they visit car dealerships or service stations they will have to justify their position on this issue in front of their constituents.”

That’s Politics 101, folks.

Between AP&T and Today’s Trucking, we took about 40,000 cards sent by readers to Ottawa. That’s phenomenal response. Do your best to keep the issue on the front burner-and lawmakers on their feet when the time comes to cast their vote again.

* * *

I appreciate what regulators in Canada and the United States are trying to accomplish by creating new hours-of-service rules for truck drivers. But while they’re toiling away, they should take time to address the problem of fatigue among all drivers.

The National Sleep Foundation based in Washington, D.C., released its Sleep Census 2000 poll in June, and according to the survey, about one-half of adults report driving while drowsy in the past year. Nearly one out of five (17%) have actually dozed off while driving. Nearly one-third of drivers (32%) reported becoming impatient when driving drowsy, and 12% said they drive faster when they feel drowsy. Nevertheless, 92% are “very” or “somewhat concerned” about the number of hours truck drivers are allowed to log.

Anyone surprised? Here’s the point: a guy in a Jimmy can doze off, veer to his left, and force a trucker into a minivan full of kids and you know perfectly well whose picture would make the local news.

Truck drivers should be held to a high standard of highway safety. But there are more four-wheelers on the road than heavy trucks, and they’re the ones most likely to cause an accident. If the public is indeed concerned about fatigue among truck drivers, it should wake up to a strong, well-supported message from lawmakers that anyone-anyone-can drift off at the wheel … and into a lane of oncoming traffic. No penalty could be worse.