Evening star., 1927-09-01
PULSORY AUTO
INSURANCE RAPED
Association President Says
Plan Advocated Here Is
Vicious and Futile.

Unqualified opposition to the action
of the police and fire control commit
tee of the Washington Chamber of
Commerce in proposing compulsory
automobile liability insurance law for
the District of Columbia is voiced by
the American Automobile Association
in a statement in which Thomas P.
Henry, president Of the A. A. A, de-
clares the committee has gone ao-
solutely counter to the country at
large in its position"
Speaking for the A. A. A, when
represents 92S motor clubs through
out the country, Mr.. Henry stated that
the motoring agency's study or COM
,,ulsorv insurance revealed that there
ia all but unanimous agreement that
such a law not only is vicious in prln-
ciple but futile in practice as TAR as
The claims made by its proponents
are concerned.
Cites Expert Opinion.
"The consensus Of expert opinion,
said Mr. Henry, lis that compulsory
autornobile insurance would ultimately
+bwrart safety work, put a premium on
recllessness and impose an enormous
additional financial burden on the car
owners. a burden which wcuto oe
o,t of all proportion to the amouht
of uncompensated damages. MUCH ol
tho sunnort of compulsory insurance
;s enthusiastically due to the contu-
sion whereby many people oeieVe tndl
cor,nulsor-v insurance proVloes LOT
nronerty damage as we'll as for per
sonal injury He continued: o.
."The Hoover conference on street
and highway safety inquired INTO 'ne
merits of the scheme ana refused "
further it in any manner, snaps y.
form, Twenty-eight state ieslsIdtules
- co,onnIsorv automobile insurance
hills before them this year ana IN
every single instance these proposals
we're overwhelmingly defeated. The
National Grange turned the principe
down after giving it serious conslo'
Grafton. while the American Automo-
bile Association at several successive
annual conventions voted uhanl
mously against it. The Nationai Au-
tomobile Chamber Of Commerce took
the same position, as did the Cnam-
her of Commerce of the United States
and several other leading national
organizations.
"It is hardly to be expected that the
police and fire committee of the Cham-
ber of Commerce had at its disposal
any new facts that these large ma
tional bodies did not have or that the
collective wisdom of the committee
was greater than the combined wis
dom and experience of these national
bodies. Only one State has adopted an
out.and.out compulsory automobile in
surance law-namely, Massachusetts
and the experience of Massachusetts
so far discloses that the law has by
no means fulfilled the aims of its en-
actors. It has not reduced accidents;
it has not driven the reckless driver
from the highway; and there is no
evidence that it has been a very ma
terial aid in increasing the margin
of those compensated for injuries re-
ceived in auto accidents.
Situation in Capital.
"There are approximately 10000
car owners in Washington. OF this
total probably not more than 80 per
cent carry liability insurance. This
means that 10000 Washington motor
lists would be compelled to carry an
additional financial burden of approx
mately $40 a year. OF the 10000 the
overwhelming majority are RESPONSE
BILE. but nevertheless, under compul.
sorry automobile insurance, the 10000
would be compelled to carry an addi-
tional burden of several million dol
lars in order to assure the financial
responsibility OF a very small mi
nority.
This and a score of other objec-
tions have been cited time and again
in the last two years and there is
every indication that the committee
OF the chamber has simply started an
agitation which has been fought out
and passed on into the limbo through.
out the rest of the country"