Testimony - Transportation Committee Hearing Dec 3, 2009
Jeff Rowsam
Spokesperson representing
Military Vehicle Preservation Association and
Wisconsin Historic Military Vehicle owners
We wish to submit testimony IN FAVOR of ASSEMBLY BILL 592.
Good Morning,
My name is Jeff Rowsam
I live at 5432 South County Hwy P, Town of New Denmark in Brown County, Wisconsin
I’m speaking today as a historic military vehicle owner and as the spokes person on behalf of the individual members of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA) and the Historic Military Vehicle owners groups in Wisconsin.
Our members include The Midwest Military Vehicle Association (MMVA) from Southern WI, MV collectors of the Fox Valley Region and North East Wisconsin, Antigo Area MV owners, The Chippewa Valley Military Preservation Association, LLC (CVMPA) and the Red Arrow Chapter of the MVPA from Northwestern Wisconsin. These groups represent nearly 600 owners with an estimated 1500 Historic Military Vehicles.
Our member’s, many of whom are military veterans own a wide variety of vehicles mainly Jeeps and small to medium cargo trucks. They are regularly driven to and from public events such as parades on patriotic holidays, club activities, events honoring our state veterans, and historic displays for schools and the general public. And on occasion assist in rendering final honors for a veteran’s funeral. As collector vehicles, our owners also show their vehicles at car shows and enjoy the occasional short local drive as a form of recreation.
Military “all wheel drive” trucks are known for their rugged heavy duty construction, and have been purchased by municipalities, county highway departments, farmers, loggers and utility contractors for commercial service. Today, Individual preservationists purchase and restore these vehicles after they have reached the end of their useful commercial life.
Direct sales of surplus equipment continue today thru regular Internet bid sales by Government Liquidation LLC (a federal marketing contractor) and the General Services Administration (GSA).
Vehicles in many configurations from WWII and Korea thru Vietnam and the Cold War and to Desert Storm are considered historic and are restored to their original military configuration by hobbyists for public displays.
In 2007, we saw an increasing number of applications for titles and registration of HMV’s being rejected. Some applications for former military vehicles were approved. Others were not. The rejection of applications for models that had been licensed previously has vehicle owners confused and frustrated.
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We are told that the Department of Transportation is receiving an increasing volume of applications for registration of many different vehicles, both foreign and domestic, with a wide variety of ages and designs. That has raised concern about what is suitable for safe operation on highways.
The department has indicated to us that they regularly receive applications for registration of non standard vehicles for on road use. Examples include, motorized scooters, Gators & Mules, lawn tractors, mini-bikes, go-karts, golf carts, imported race cars, mini-trucks and yes, motorized bar stools.
The DOT has placed Imported and US manufactured military surplus vehicles in the same group. The on-highway use of wheeled military vehicles is well known and these historic vehicles do have the necessary equipment to operate safely on highway and do not belong in the same category with motorized bar stools.
We know of no fatalities in Wisconsin involving privately owned HMV’s. There is no data to indicate increased rates of civilian collisions or injuries involving HMV’s and there is no public protest demanding that Historic Military Vehicles be prohibited.
Our efforts consulting with HMV owners and giving input to legislative contacts and with dialog from the DOT to gain understanding of the issue, resulted in the creation of AB 592.
We believe that the provisions of Assembly Bill 592 would create a needed definition for the preservation of Historic Military Vehicles and would solve registration issues for preservationist owners and resolve many confusing title and registration issues for DMV officials.
Keeping HMV’s under the current Collector registration rules and adding a definition for HMV’s seemed a simple solution and was first proposed by our group. Keeping HMV’s under Collector status does not provide a long term solution and does not address all the concerns of collectors or the DOT or Law Enforcement.
We considered allowing HMV’s under the Wisconsin “Antique” vehicle license rules. After an extended review of the wide range of HMV configurations including Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm Era’s we agreed that HMV’s did not fit in the existing antique category.
Thru the legislature, the DOT and collector groups we came to agree that legislation which created a distinct and separate HMV category with a distinctive plate would allow continued use of former military vehicles in a historic role and satisfy the DOT’s concern for public safety by restricting use to a profile similar to what preservationist collectors do now. That is, to limit use of their HMV’s to a few hundred miles per year.
Unlike in-experienced vehicle owners who want to purchase a low priced heavy duty surplus truck to use without restriction for any purpose, collectors place a high value on their Historic vehicles, spend large sums to complete a restoration and recognize the limitations and safety requirements of operating specialized vintage vehicles. They operate with greater caution over limited miles to preserve their high value vehicle
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Assembly Bill 592 meets the needs of Historic Preservation and public safety by:
1) Simplifying registration for owners and the DMV by providing a single, clear MV
category.
2) It allows HMV’s to be operated with limitations.
The current wording to allow driving for “necessary testing and maintenance” meets the collectors need the occasional short local drives.
3) Eliminates the previous requirement for US MV’s to be specified age or vintage.
a. The US military does not recognize model year. Many vehicles are sold by the US government with an incorrect year or notation “date of manufacture unknown” on the documents.
b. The bill simplifies the registration process that has been difficult to the point of confrontation between owners and DMV employees
c. It retains the 25 year age requirement for imported former military vehicles which is in line with federal regulations that exempt imported vehicles from NHTSA safety requirements on vehicles more than 25 years old.
4) Creates a provision to continue to allow municipal users to own and operate
former MV’s in special applications such as rural fire fighting and emergency government, but limits the public exposure by limiting operation to their local areas.
5) The distinctive license plate allows law enforcement to distinguish privately owned
HMV’s from active military vehicles.
6) Establishes a single HMV data base to track the future safety record of HMV’s.
The DOT maintains safety statistics by license type but currently can not track HMV’s that are grouped with other collector vehicles with blue plates.
There is a large group of citizens and veterans who have a passionate interest in preserving and operating Historic Military Vehicles. They recognize that these vehicles are an important part of our nation’s proud military history and should be preserved, and used to honor veterans and educate the public.
On behalf of the many owners of Historic Military Vehicles through out Wisconsin, we respectfully submit that Assembly Bill 592 be presented to the legislature for consideration.
Thank You. For the
Respectfully, Military Vehicle Preservation Association and Wisconsin Military Vehicle Collectors
