WASHINGTON - A coalition of law enforcement and equipment manufacturers is pressing Congress to act on a bill that would give truck and bus operators a tax incentive for purchasing safety technology.

"By providing a tax credit to motor carriers to make it easier for them to purchase safety technology . . . we can encourage more widespread use of these lifesaving technologies and in a shorter period of time," said Steve Campbell, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

Representatives of CVSA, along with the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association, have met with congressional staff members to push for passage of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced Safety Technology Tax Act of 2007.

That bill, introduced in October by Reps. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and Ron Lewis, R-Ky., members of the House Ways and Means Committee, has yet to be considered. (See Nov. 1 Bus & Motorcoach News.)

If enacted, it would provide fleets a 50 percent tax credit - capped at $1,500 per system, $3,500 per vehicle or $350,000 per fleet annually - for four specific types of safety technology: brake stroke monitoring, lane-departure warning, collision warning and vehicle stability control.

Campbell says these technologies have been "proven" and "tested."

Tim Kraus, president of the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association, a division of the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association, said the legislation faced an uncertain future.

"Its an election year; who can tell whats going to happen?" he said.

Catherine Boland, director of government relations for the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association, said she believed there was a chance Congress would take action on the bill this session because "members of Congress are going to want to take something home to their districts."

However, if the bill does not pass this year, the group intends to push for it again next year.

"Obviously, if this doesnt pass this calendar year, it would go to the next Congress. The highway reauthorization would be an ideal vehicle," Boland said.

Both Campbell and Kraus said the incentives would be more effective than a mandate in getting fleets to adopt the technology. Incentives are "proven" to get it done faster, said Kraus.

Campbell said a rulemaking can take as long as 10 years to complete, and the outcome is uncertain.

Incentives have other advantages, said Bill Patrolia, director of North American sales for lane-departure warning systems manufacturer Iteris Inc. A mandate, he said, "would turn our friends and customers into enemies."

"The bottom line, it costs only 1% to 2% of the total vehicle cost, and yet in 2007 only about 7% of licensed commercial vehicles were equipped with a full stability system," said Fred Andersky, marketing manager for Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems. He said a credit would not only "make the technology more appealing but more affordable for more fleets."

Scott Adams, manager of vehicle solutions for Eaton Corp., said a 2001 study of the companys VORAD collision warning system "showed that fleets outfitted 100 percent . . . reduced fatalities by over 50% [and] on top of that, the vehicle collision warning system reduced total accidents and crashes by about a third."