U.S. Legislative Updates

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended that trucking fleets review ten years of driving history for each new driver hired. At its June 5 meeting, the NTSB also recommended that the federal government require "advanced" speed limiters that would restrict heavy duty vehicles based on the posted speed limit.

The recommendations were adopted by the Board based on the NTSB report of a March 2011 bus crash on Interstate 95 in New York City that killed fifteen people. NTSB’s investigation found that the driver had multiple violations and suspensions on his driving record.


Pending federal legislation would extend a tax break on new equipment purchases through 2012. The tax incentive, which expired on December 31, 2011, allowed a business to deduct one hundred percent of the cost of trucks and equipment in the same year as the purchase rather than having to depreciate the purchase over several years. H.R. 4196 and S. 2240 will provide an immediate and temporary incentive for businesses that make new capital investments in the United States by extending one hundred percent bonus depreciation through 2012 and removing the restrictions to allow more Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) credits for capital investments that would otherwise qualify for the depreciation bonus.

From September 2010 through the end of 2011, businesses were allowed to elect to immediately deduct the cost of qualifying purchased property. Currently, however, businesses can only elect to deduct fifty percent of the cost of investments. [Note that the total depreciation deduction (whether fifty or one hundred percent bonus depreciation) is limited for passenger automobile and light trucks and vans. The maximum deduction for a passenger automobile first placed in service in 2012 is $11,160. The maximum deduction for a light truck or van first placed in service in 2010 is increased to $11,360.]