Evening star., 1935-03-06
Districts Safety Bill Delay
Causes Concern to Officials
Measure to Rid Washington of IRE
sponsible Driuers Again Up for
Discussion on Capitol Hill.

insurance company rather than In
themselves. The accident rate there
has not declined, and there is conSid-
cradle opposition to the law.
"The safety bill which the District
proposes Is aimed wholly at the little
group of wild drivers who are respon-
sible for the bulk of the accidents. 1t
would remove from the streets only
those drivers who have proven their
responsibility"
On the other hand, the bill is op-
posed by several groups of taXicab Op-
orators, including the City Cab Asso-
citation. Earl Klein, manager, and
Arthur S. Harder, member of the
the measure because it required re-
sponsibility after and not before an
accident.
Amendment Suggested.
Klein and Harder suggested an
amendment requiring insurance Of
taxicab operators but not affecting the
operators of other vehicles. They con-
tended that under the new bill the
whole responsibility for an accident,
in which an irresponsible" driver is
involved, would be thrown upon the
owner of the cab should the driver de-
eide to quit his job.
Klein and Harder declared the pres
ent bill will create unemployment in
the business and ultimately make it
possible for the large companies to
monopolize the field.
In the A. A. A. statement, Ernest N.
Smith, executive vice president, said:
Opposition to the safety-reSponsi-
bility measure comes from only small
minority of taxicab operators-many
of the larger companies have expressed
approval of the bill in preference to
any other form of legislation.
The selfish purposes that actuate
opposition to the pending measure by
a minority of taxi operators become
arrantly mischievous when they inter-
fere with passage Of measure so
urgently needed to aid in correcting
the traffic ills Of the National Capital.
Entirely aside from the merits or
dement's of compulsory cab insurance,
it should be recognized once and for
all that this problem should not be
allowed to confuse or hamper the prin-
cipal issues of safety responsibility.
Any measures providing special treat
ment for taxicabs should be given
separate consideration and should be
contained in a separate bill.
Aware of Special Interest.
Fortunately, sponsors Of the
safety-responsibility measure in Con-
gress are aware of the special interest
that has given rise TO most of the
min0rity opposition te seaety response
bility and Nllf give TIM fiaims of this
minority no more weight than is due
them.
THE District of Columbia safety
responsibility bill, with only a few
minor changes to provide for local
conditions, follows exactly the model
bill which was drawn up in 1923 by
committee of the A. A. A., and which
has been adopted in whole or in part
in 81 States. The District of Column
bia measure has the united backing
of the District government. of Or
ganized motordom and of all those
interested in traffic safety for the Ma
tion's Capital It's principles have
been approved by President Roosevelt
in his plea for uniform motor legisla-
ton.
With all these forces pressing for
early passage of the safety-responsi-
bility bill. it is unbelievable that a
fractional group of taxi operators, for
reasons which they know best, can
any longer be successful in retarding
favorable action on this all-important
measure"