Preventing US Truck Accidents: New Federal Bill Tries to Decrease Truck Collisions by Offering Trucking Companies Tax Incentives to Install Safety Devices
A new federal bill is offering truck drivers tax incentives in exchange for installing safety devices that could decrease the number of deadly truck accidents. The bill comes in the wake of the deadly California large truck accident in La Canada Flintridge on April 1 that claimed the lives of a father and daughter.
The bill would give an up to $3,500/truck tax deduction (at $350,00 maximum) to trucking companies if they buy and use updatable GPS equipment that include rule changes and new road closures, warning systems that let truck drivers know when their trucks have moved out of a lane, and automated systems that shut down trucks when the vehicle’s brake system is overloaded. The tax credit would be valid through 2014 before expiring. American Trucking Association spokesperson Clayton Boyce says truck companies would support the bill, introduced by California Rep David Dreier, especially as it won’t cost truck companies additional expenses.
Dreier co-sponsored the Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced Safety Technology Tax Act of 2009, also known as HR 2024. The bill recognizes that there are technologies that exist that can increase safety on US roads, including collision warnings, brake stroke monitoring, vehicle stability systems, and lane departure warnings. The tax incentives could be beneficial to most trucking companies, 95% of which are small businesses that own no more than 20 trucks. Dreier also sent letters to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration spurring both federal agencies to increase efforts to study how effectively truck navigation devices work in terms of improving safety on US roads.
Large truck crashes can be fatal for those involved. It is the responsibility of truck drivers and trucking companies and the federal agencies that regulate truck safety to make sure that they do everything they can to minimize the number of trucking collisions that occur in Illinois and other US states.
Many trucking companies are experienced in limiting liability when one of their drivers causes a deadly truck collision and they may try to get you to settle immediately. It is important that you speak with an lllinois truck crash lawyer first before you settle.
Federal proposal offers incentives to increase truck safety, Pasadena Star, April 1, 2009
Dreier Seeks to Strengthen Technology Resources for Trucking Industry, Congressman David Dreier, April 23, 2009
Related Web Resources:
HR 2024 Summary (PDF)
Contact our Chicago truck crash law firm to discuss your Illinois personal injury case.
