I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3820 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a credit against 
income tax to facilitate the accelerated development and deployment 
of advanced safety systems for commercial motor vehicles. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 10, 2007 
Mr. THOMPSON of California (for himself, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. 
SHULER, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. LEVIN, Mrs. TAUSCHER, 
and Mr. ROGERS of Michigan) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
a credit against income tax to facilitate the accelerated 
development and deployment of advanced safety systems 
for commercial motor vehicles. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commercial Motor Ve-
hicle Advanced Safety Technology Tax Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) Commercial motor vehicle crashes remain a 
primary source of concern in the United States, par-
ticularly in light of the increasing numbers of trucks 
and motorcoaches on the Nation’s roads and their 
critical role in the transportation of hazardous mate-
rials. 
(2) A 2004 report by the National Cooperative 
Highway Research Program found that when a large 
truck is involved in a crash, it is about 2.6 times as 
likely to result in a fatality compared with passenger 
cars. 
(3) The number of fatalities associated with 
large truck crashes is a significant portion of all 
crash fatalities in the United States. In 2005, 5,212 
individuals died and 114,000 individuals were in-
jured as a result of large truck-related crashes in the 
United States. Overall, from 2001 to 2005, there 
have been 25,533 large truck-related fatalities in the 
United States. 
(4) In addition to the tremendous human loss, 
these crashes also impose a significant economic cost 
on society. The Department of Transportation esti-
mates that highway crashes cost society $230.6 bil-
lion a year, about $820 per person. A 2006 report 
issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminis-
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tration determined that the estimated cost of each 
crash involving a truck with a gross vehicle weight 
rating of more than 10,000 pounds is $91,112 while 
the average cost of a fatal crash is $3,604,518. 
(5) Investments by vehicle suppliers and truck 
and motorcoach manufacturers in research and inno-
vative design have created a new generation of ad-
vanced safety systems and technologies. 
(6) Advanced safety technologies will directly 
address, and help mitigate the effects of, commercial 
motor vehicle crash scenarios. 
(7) The Department of Transportation has set 
a goal to reduce the traffic fatality rate to 1.0 per 
hundred million vehicle miles traveled by 2011. 
(8) The accelerated production, sale, and de-
ployment of advanced safety technologies on com-
mercial motor vehicles can speed the progress to-
ward this critical goal and reduce the daily injuries 
and fatalities on the Nation’s roads and highways. 
This progress would also help to mitigate the soci-
etal cost of these crashes. 
(9) Therefore, Congress finds that it is in the 
interest of the United States to increase the deploy-
ment of advanced vehicle safety technologies on com-
mercial motor vehicles in the domestic market by 
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providing businesses with tax incentives, designed to 
make such systems more affordable for purchase. 
SEC. 3. CREDIT FOR ADVANCED COMMERCIAL VEHICLE 
SAFETY SYSTEMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 45O. CREDIT FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ADVANCED 
SAFETY SYSTEMS. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—For purposes of sec-
tion 38, the commercial vehicle advanced safety system 
credit determined under this section is an amount equal 
to 50 percent of the cost of any qualified commercial vehi-
cle advanced safety system placed in service by the tax-
payer during the taxable year. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) PER SYSTEM.—The credit allowable under 
subsection (a) for each qualified commercial vehicle 
advanced safety system shall not exceed $1,500. 
‘‘(2) PER
VEHICLE.—The credit allowable 
under subsection (a) with respect to property for 
each qualified commercial vehicle shall not exceed— 
‘‘(A) $3,500, reduced by 
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‘‘(B) the aggregate amount of credit al-
lowed to the taxpayer under this section with 
respect to such vehicle for all prior taxable 
years. 
‘‘(3) PER
TAXPAYER.—The credit allowable 
under subsection (a) to the taxpayer for the taxable 
year shall not exceed $350,000. 
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ADVANCED 
SAFETY SYSTEM.—For purposes of this section, the term 
‘qualified commercial vehicle advanced safety system’ 
means any property which is part of a system installed 
on a qualified commercial vehicle if— 
‘‘(1)(A) such system is a brake stroke moni-
toring system, lane departure warning system, colli-
sion warning system, or vehicle stability system, or 
‘‘(B) such system is specifically identified by 
the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration or the Administrator of the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 
the purposes of this paragraph as significantly en-
hancing the safety or security of the driver, vehicle, 
passengers, or load of a qualified commercial vehicle 
and such identification is in effect as of the date 
such system is placed in service by the taxpayer, 
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‘‘(2) such system is certified by the manufac-
turer of such system (before such vehicle is first 
used by the taxpayer for its intended purpose after 
installation of such system)— 
‘‘(A) to be appropriate for the make, type, 
and model of the qualified commercial vehicle 
on which it is to be installed, and 
‘‘(B) to function as designed if installed 
properly, 
‘‘(3) in the case of a system which is not in-
stalled by the manufacturer of the qualified commer-
cial vehicle or by an installer authorized by the man-
ufacturer of such system, such system is certified by 
the installer of such system to be properly installed 
and functioning on the vehicle before such vehicle is 
first used by the taxpayer for its intended purpose 
after installation of such system, 
‘‘(4) the original use of such system begins with 
the taxpayer, and 
‘‘(5) depreciation (or amortization in lieu of de-
preciation) is allowable with respect to such system. 
‘‘(d) QUALIFIED COMMERCIAL VEHICLE.—For pur-
poses of this section— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified com-
mercial vehicle’ means any highway motor vehicle 
if— 
‘‘(A) such vehicle— 
‘‘(i) is to be used to transport persons 
or property in commerce, and 
‘‘(ii) has a gross combination weight 
rating or a gross vehicle weight rating of 
26,001 pounds or more, or 
‘‘(iii) the seating capacity of which is 
at least 15 individuals (not including the 
driver), 
‘‘(B) the seating capacity of such vehicle is 
at least 11 individuals (not including the driver) 
and such vehicle is reasonably expected to be 
used as a school bus (as defined in section 
4221(d)(7)(C)), or 
‘‘(C) such vehicle is reasonably expected to 
be used as an intercity or local bus (as defined 
in section 4221(d)(7)(B)). 
‘‘(e) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 
section— 
‘‘(1) BRAKE STROKE MONITORING SYSTEM.— 
The term ‘brake stroke monitoring system’ means 
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any onboard-monitoring system for air-braked vehi-
cles that— 
‘‘(A) uses electronic sensors to determine if 
the brakes are out of adjustment, not oper-
ational, or not fully releasing, and 
‘‘(B) displays warnings to the driver show-
ing the existence and exact location and nature 
of the problem. 
‘‘(2) LANE
DEPARTURE
WARNING
SYSTEM.— 
The term ‘lane departure warning system’ means 
any system that alerts a driver (including audio, vis-
ual, and tactile warnings) of unintended movement 
out of the lane of travel or of an object or vehicle 
in the adjacent lane blind spot. 
‘‘(3) COLLISION WARNING SYSTEM.—The term 
‘collision warning system’ means any system that 
monitors the roadway in front or to the rear of the 
vehicle and warns the driver when a potential colli-
sion risk exists by providing the driver with an audi-
ble, visual, or tactile notification. 
‘‘(4) VEHICLE STABILITY SYSTEM.—The term 
‘vehicle stability system’ means any active safety 
system that automatically intervenes when there is a 
high risk of rollover or directional instability. For 
purposes of the preceding sentence, active interven-
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tions include automatically reducing vehicle speed or 
by selectively applying appropriate brakes to better 
align the vehicle to the appropriate path of travel. 
‘‘(f) CONTROLLED GROUPS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, all persons treated as a single employer under 
subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 or subsection (m) 
or (o) of section 414 shall be treated as a single tax-
payer. 
‘‘(2) INCLUSION OF FOREIGN CORPORATIONS.— 
For purposes of paragraph (1), in applying sub-
sections (a) and (b) of section 52 to this section, sec-
tion 1563 shall be applied without regard to sub-
section (b)(2)(C) thereof. 
‘‘(g) SPECIAL RULES.— 
‘‘(1) BASIS
REDUCTION.—The basis of any 
property for which a credit is allowable under sub-
section (a) shall be reduced by the amount of such 
credit. 
‘‘(2) RECAPTURE.—The Secretary shall, by reg-
ulations, provide for recapturing the benefit of any 
credit allowable under subsection (a) with respect to 
any property which ceases to be property eligible for 
such credit. 
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‘‘(3) PROPERTY USED OUTSIDE UNITED STATES 
NOT QUALIFIED.—No credit shall be allowed under 
subsection (a) with respect to any property referred 
to in section 50(b)(1) or with respect to the portion 
of the cost of any property taken into account under 
section 179. 
‘‘(4) PROPERTY USED BY TAX-EXEMPT ENTI-
TY.—In the case of any qualified commercial vehicle 
advanced safety system the use of which is described 
in paragraph (3) or (4) of section 50(b) and which 
is not subject to a lease— 
‘‘(A) the person who sold such property to 
the person or entity using such property shall 
be treated as the taxpayer that placed such 
property in service, but only if such person 
clearly discloses to such person or entity in a 
document the amount of any credit allowable 
under subsection (a) with respect to such prop-
erty (determined without regard to section 
38(c)), and 
‘‘(B) paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection 
(c) shall not apply to such person with respect 
to such property. 
‘‘(5) ELECTION
NOT
TO
TAKE
CREDIT.—No 
credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) for any 
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