Financial Responsibility of Automobile Drivers

The popular agitation for "compulsory automobile insurance," which has produced a typical result in %he notorious Massachusetts law, is like a stone which is thrown at two birds, misses both targets, wings a smaller bird in between the two, cripples an unoffending bystander and does other damage. The two birds missed--the two objectives popularly aimed at--are accident prevention and assurance of relief to victims of automobile accidents generally. The bystander hurt is "sound insurance." The other damage done is an increase in speculative litigation. And the little bird touched--the only good effected--is the production of somewhat more general security for the recovery of damages in those automobile accident cases in which the victims can prove that they are legally entitled to damages.