Washington — Repealing a century-old federal excise tax on heavy trucks could prevent 729 crashes and eight roadway deaths annually, a recent report from the research arm of the American Trucking Associations estimates.
The American Transportation Research Institute projected safety and environmental benefits that would result from potentially eliminating a 12% federal excise tax on new trucks and trucking equipment that has been in place since 1917. The tax was introduced during World War I to “pay for military costs and an expanding federal government,” the report states.
ATRI estimated the age and annual mileage of the U.S. truck population. Its analysis shows that repealing the tax would boost demand for new vehicles, which are “more likely to have the latest advanced safety systems.” Researchers found that a repeal would also save the industry $13.4 billion in crash costs over 10 years.
ATA says operations with 10 trucks or fewer represent 96% of trucking companies in the United States.
In a press release, American Truck Dealers President Jacqueline Gelb says the report “greatly reinforces one of the key justifications for repealing the FET on new trucks by quantifying the real-world benefits a repeal will have on the environment and highway safety.”
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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication