[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 22, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF H.R. 2024, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE ADVANCED SAFETY 
                       TECHNOLOGY TAX ACT OF 2009

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                           HON. DAVID DREIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 22, 2009

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of 
H.R. 2024, the Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced Safety Technology Tax 
Act of 2009. This bill is an important step toward improving safety in 
the commercial vehicle industry. It offers tax credits to incentivize 
businesses to implement proven safety systems for their fleet. These 
market-ready technologies will help reduce the number of truck-related 
crashes, injuries and fatalities on our Nation's roads.
  H.R. 2404 addresses a number of critical concerns. First, it 
identifies widely recognized technologies that are proven to increase 
safety on our roads. Brake stroke monitoring, collision warning, lane 
departure warning and vehicle stability systems are proven to reduce 
collisions, rollovers and crashes resulting from brake failure. We know 
from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's, FMCSA, 2006 
Large Truck Crash Causation Study that these are the most prevalent 
types of large truck crashes.
  Second, during these challenging economic times, there is no better 
way to move businesses in the right direction on increasing their 
safety systems than to provide tax incentives, reducing their financial 
burdens. This is especially important considering that 95 percent of 
all trucking companies have fewer than 20 trucks, making almost the 
entire industry one composed of small businesses.
  Finally, this bill takes an appropriate long-term view of emerging 
safety systems technology by allowing the FMCSA or the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration to add qualified safety systems for this 
tax incentive, once they are proven to significantly enhance the safety 
or security of drivers and vehicles. I strongly believe that GPS 
navigation devices for trucks should be made eligible for this 
incentive. In order to certify this technology as a proven safety 
system, I have asked the FMCSA to study the effectiveness of GPS 
navigation devices for trucks and their ability to improve safety for 
drivers and vehicles. In addition, I have asked the Federal Highway 
Administration to ensure that any real-time information programs 
implemented by the Department of Transportation include truck safety as 
one of its major determinants of effective real-time data collection 
and dissemination.
  There are cutting edge technologies in the navigational device, 
mapping software and data collection industries that are available and 
deployed to fleets right now. However, with so many small trucking 
companies and owner/operator small businesses, not all fleets have 
access to these sophisticated systems. In addition, challenges remain 
in the industry with respect to timely and accurate data collection 
specific to trucks, including changing road conditions or restrictions, 
as well as grade inclines and declines. There is also a lack of 
information dissemination to drivers, fleet managers and dispatch 
centers with no real national framework for real-time data, especially 
for interstate trucking needs. Unfortunately, my district has seen the 
tragic consequences of these gaps first hand.
  Last September, a tractor trailer filled with over 75,000 pounds of 
onions was routed onto the Angeles Crest Highway in Southern 
California, State Rte. 2, by a driver using a GPS navigation device 
seeking the shortest route to his destination. The Angeles Crest 
Highway is not suitable for tractor trailers due to its turns and grade 
inclines and declines. However, the road is often used by drivers as a 
short-cut in order to avoid congestion on 1-210 and 1-5. With his 
brakes losing function on the decline into the City of La Canada 
Flintridge, the driver lost control of the truck and it plowed through 
one of the main intersections in the city, through a parking lot, and 
fortunately only resulted in one injury. Earlier this month, on April 
1, an eerily similar accident took place at exactly the same location, 
but the result was tragically fatal. A driver was using the same 
Angeles Crest Highway short-cut. His brakes were seen smoking, 
indicating they had burned out on the steep grade of the road. He hit a 
vehicle, killing Angel and Angelina Posca, a father and his 12-year-old 
daughter; struck several more vehicles seriously injuring a dozen more 
individuals, three critically; and crashed through a bookstore in a 
local shopping center, causing significant property damage. While the 
investigation is ongoing, we know that there was a GPS navigation 
device in the cab of that truck.
  In the aftermath of these accidents, our local leaders in La Canada 
Flintridge have been working tirelessly to find solutions that will 
prevent this kind of accident from happening again in our area and in 
any other community across the country. I am very pleased that CalTrans 
banned truck traffic on Angeles Crest Highway for 90 days and that they 
are now working with the city and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's 
Department on mitigation measures that will ensure this road remains 
free of trucks. I also applaud California State Assemblyman Anthony 
Portantino and State Senator Carol Liu for introducing State 
legislation to prohibit, with specified exemptions, truck traffic on 
the Angeles Crest Highway. I am honored to be working alongside our 
local leaders in pursuing all means necessary to improve safety on our 
roads. Like them, I am committed to seeing real-time information 
provided to drivers through GPS navigation devices that can relay the 
kind of information drivers need to make the safest decisions on the 
road.
  I strongly believe we must partner cutting-edge safety systems with 
the kinds of incentives provided in this bill to improve truck safety 
on our roads. I want to thank my colleagues Mike Thompson and Geoff 
Davis for providing the leadership they have on this issue and am proud 
to join them in this effort. I encourage all my colleagues to support 
this important legislation.

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