Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-19
BY WILLIAM ULLMAN.

/ Compulsory insurance. or its equiv
alent as a means of reducing traffic
accidents is nearing its first thorough
test
AS the time nears for the applica
ton of the Massachusetts law. which
embodies the principle that has been
dealt with vigorously as an abstrac-
ton in virtually every State. the eyes
OF motorists. safety advocates and
officials are focused upon the potential
results to be achieved.
For many years in their cropping
for solution of the ba Ming problem
of safety on the highway. thinkers i'm
all walks Of life have turned over in
their minds the idea that accidents
could he reduced or their effects less
ened If every driver We're forced to
carry protection for the victim of his
possible carelessness.
The middle of the compulsory In
surance road has been virtually un-
trod in all the consideration of its
principle. Proba bly, no topic relating to
safety has been more productive of
flaming debate.
One found inevitably that the ma n
to whom he preached the subject in
even casual conversati ton was either
vigorously for or against it-not
w IIiIlIE W wait SCC bOW II
worked out in actual practice.
Repulsive to Many Owners.
To the average motorist it has been
a repulsive thought-another legisla-
tive effort to compel conformity.
Furthermore, IL he were forced TO
carry liability insurance. it meant an
addition to his motoring bill that, in
many cases. seemed to forecast the
n 81 sc lit t1IA
His distaste for such a prospect is
ca sily susceptible of comprehension.
Naturally. he resisted with all his
powers of articulation.
State legislatures and municipal
law-making bodies in all parts Of the
country have toyed with compulsory
insura bills for several years. They
found. however, that bringing the
idea too much to- the fore held def
mite prospect of relegation to the pO-
litical background for the lawmaker
with the temerity to defy the ballot
power of the motorist.
AS result, compulsory insuranc
has remained pretty much Of an an
noying abstraction to be dealt with by
those who had no political fortune to
lose by defending the principle.
Massachusetts, was the first state to
change this picture. Her Legislature
took the bull by the horns and. as a
result. next January will see every
motorist buying insura nee or street
car tokens.
Law Has Optional Features.
The Massachusetts law has its OPP
tional features. If the car owner OBJ
1ects to a straight insurance policy ne
may give bond or deposit cash or Sc
curties. The protection covers only
personal injuries and only those which
happen on Massachusetts highways.
Vehicles on private property are not
required to carry insurance. Liability
insurance as now written generally
gives protection regardless of where
the vehicle may he and includes in
Surance to cover property damage.
On the eve Of it's trial of obligatory
protection. the Bay State is attracting
the attention of all motordom by
showing a reduced highway fatality
toll in spite of greater motor vehicle
registration than ever before. In the
seven months of the States fiscal
year, from December | to July |. a
decrease Of IS Is shown in fatalities
caused by motor vehicles. The figures
represent drop of per cent. while
automobiles registered are per cent
greater than ever before.
This, says Frank A Goodwin reg
istrar of motor vehicles, is tracea BILE to
the educational campaign conducted
TO fit the motor car owner for the new
garb he will wear when the insurance
law becomes effective
Mr.. Goodwin unhesitatingly predicts
that the States present showing, good
as it is. will be improved greatly a
year hence, when every motorist is
carrying protection.
Mr. Goodwin Is convinced that the