Testimony – Senate Committee Hearing Jan 20, 2010
Jeff Rowsam
Spokesperson representing
Military Vehicle Preservation Association and
Wisconsin Historic Military Vehicle owners
Historic Military Vehicle Collectors wish to submit testimony in support of SB 392.
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 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 and North East Wisconsin, the 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 some 600 owners statewide with over 1500 Historic Military Vehicles (HMV’s).
Former military vehicles are known for their heavy duty construction and have been sold here as surplus equipment by the US and other governments since the 1920’s. Weekly sales continue today. Individuals, municipalities, the DNR, county highway departments, farmers, loggers and utility contractors have a long history of safely and successfully operating former military vehicles in commercial and private on-highway service.
Over the past 20 years, as interest in WWII history re-emerged, interest by individual preservationists to own and restore these vehicles has evolved and reached the point were it is now a well developed “old car hobby”. The purchase and restoration of these vehicles for historic preservation, public displays, car shows and recreational driving is very active throughout the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe and in Australia.
Restored Jeeps and other all wheel drive trucks have been regularly driven to public events such as parades on patriotic holidays, club activities, events honoring our military veterans, and historic displays for schools and the general public. As collector vehicles, our owners also display their vehicles at car shows and enjoy occasional local drives as a form of recreation.
While fewer and fewer former military vehicles are operated in daily commercial service, vintage HMV’s from WWII and Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War and from Operation Desert Storm now have special interest and increasingly are being purchased and restored to their original historic configuration.
In 2007, owners and collectors in Wisconsin saw an increasing number of applications for titles and registration of HMV’s being rejected by the Wisconsin DMV and the DOT. The DMV has been inconsistent. Some registration applications were approved. Others were not. The rejection of applications for models that had been licensed and operated for many years previously has left vehicle owners confused and frustrated by the change.
The Department of Transportation states they are receiving an increasing volume of applications for registration of many different unique vehicles, both foreign and domestic, with a wide variety of ages and designs and they include former military vehicles in that list . They sight a raised concern about what is suitable for safe operation on Wisconsin highways.
The on-highway use of wheeled military vehicles is well known. The historic military vehicles we seek to preserve have the same equipment needed to meet the requirements of Wisconsin Admin Rule Trans 305 which specifies the minimum equipment for any motor vehicle in order to be registered in Wisconsin.
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 in Wisconsin and there is no public protest demanding that Historic Military Vehicles be prohibited.
The DOT’s concern that these vehicles pose a higher risk to public safety than other civilian vehicles is unsupported.
Collectors place a high value on their historic vehicles, often spend many months and large sums to complete a restoration. They operate with greater caution over limited miles to preserve their high value historic vehicle. Most HMV’s operate less than 300 miles annually.
SB 392 would create the needed special interest vehicle definition that will continue the registration of Historic Military Vehicles.
Our owners raise one reservation, The bill requirement that a former military vehicle must be 25 years old to qualify for registration. The US military does not designate vehicles by model year. Former military vehicles recently sold by the US government sometimes carry no documented year of manufacture or are sold with a late model rebuilt date that does not reflect the true vintage. Amending SB392 to eliminate a specific age requirement for US manufactured former military vehicles would simplify the registration issue.
In the past, establishing an accurate “Year of Manufacture” has been a confusing and often frustrating, sometimes confrontational issue between vehicle owners and the DMV. Unlike commercially manufactured trucks and autos, collector registration would be the only option for HMV’s in Wisconsin, and the need to defer to a 25 year age requirement is not necessary in this situation.
Under the bill, existing registrations will not require re-registration, cancelation or re-application.
The vehicles are an important part of our nation’s proud military history and should qualify for preservation.
On behalf of the many owners of Historic Military Vehicles through out Wisconsin, we respectfully submit that of the two registration bills under consideration today, SB 392 with a vehicle age amendment is the preferred legislation.
Thank You. For the
Respectfully, Military Vehicle Preservation Association and Wisconsin Military Vehicle Collectors
