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FLARES TO WARN _ MOTOR PASSENCER (3> OR MOTOR WRECKS . JNSURANCE RATES «> WILL BEREQUIRED -- MAY RISE, IS CLAM s Insurance Clause to Apply Only to Unlicensed Driver in Accident NO TONNAGE PLATES Highway Act prov'sions that @ Passenger--liability insurance rates driver caught without a permit mu:s: are going «o jump because a regularly meet insurance :equirements were v:m'kec:u ncklet, is gosting l!insulf:nco: . companies plenty, the Ontario gis-- removed from the statute under a Bst lature was warned vesterday by of amerndments brought down in the Charles A. Robertson, Libaral member Ontario Legislature yesterday by Hon. ggmmfiluron ugauttg when he 81p°ke to seeking correct a situation Leopold uaca_ulay the Minister. In that sthreatens to weigh heavily on future the insurance requirement: Ontario motorists. Operation of heavier busses, neces-- sitated by modern developments for safety and comfort of 'mmngers. is permitted in an amendment adding "ard public vehicles" to the sectior of the act which establ:shes a top gross weight of 24,000 pounds. I:l'g- way safety is the object of an y change amed to prevent accident> caused by trailors becoming detachec from trucks. The amendment re-- quires two separate means of attack-- mont between truck and trailer. Plaiss attached to trucks and show-- ing the authorized carrying capacity will d'sappear under a clause which 'requires instcad that the driver shall | carry the permit specifying the | vehicle's capacity. The reason for | the change was that evasions of the | law were constantly occurring through . use of high--tonnage plates on ligh: Ontario Legislature yesterday by Hon. Leopold Macaulay the Minister. In future the insurance requirement: will apply only to an unl'censed driver involved in an acc'dent. Another clause in the bill necessi-- tates burning of warning flares beside a motor vehicle so wrecked at nigh: that its l'ghts fai' to operate. L'ght-- ing regulations for Ontario are brought into line with laws in foree in other Provinces and the United States through a clause raising max -- mum--power lights on Ccars from twenty--one to thirtv--two candle-- power. Busses of 24,000 FPounds. No Spring Load Cuts. Dirt roads are grow .ng fewer along King's Highway routes, so that th:. Cpartment no longer sees the neeC of the requiremeni that truck capa-- cities be l mited to half--loads in ths spring months. However, the para-- graph in the statute is so left tha: the provision can be rm--enforced a. any time by Order-- n--Council. Cleverly Worked 'Negligence' Racket Hitting Companies, House Is Told BILL TO CORRECT EVIL Speaking as a private member, Highways Minister Macaulay lent his support to the measure, which would relieve drivers of civil--court respon-- sibility for injury or death of passen-- gers in their cars. Other lawyer-- members of the House raised alarmed hands at what they feared was a change in basic legal principle, and ultimately the bill was sent to the Committee on Legal Bills, where, Hon. Charles McCrea promised, it would receive more than usual consideration. Purpose of Measure. In explaining the purpose of his bill, Mr. Robertson said that under the present law a motorist was ant to "pay the penalty of his kindness" if he picked up a friend or hitch--hiker. In event of an accident, his passerger, on proving the driver was negligent, could collect damages. If the driver was uninsured, it was too bad for him: if he was insured it was too bad for the insurance company, since at this point another element entered. If they were friends, driver and passenger were quite likely to come to an agree-- ment whereby the former admitted negligence and the latter collected. As a result, insurance companies had raised their passenger hazard rate to $2, but actually it was costing them $5 annually, so that there was every reason to expect a further increase, Mr. Robertson observed that the On-- tario Motor League had endorsed the principle of his bill. Rectifies a Wrong, Creates Another. Hon. Leopold Macaulay remarked that in some respects the bill was trying to rectify one wrong by creating another. However, the passengeor-- hazard insurance shortly would cost $5 or $6, a maiter of about $1,000,000 in insurance rates for the motorists of the Province. 'The problem had been insignificant a few years ago,. "but it is astonishing how quickly the public realized where the plums were to be picked. The driver picks up a passen-- ger, usually a friend. After the acci-- dent the friend finds out the driver is insured, and only the two of them, providing no other car is involved, know whether there was negligence. If the driver admits it, the passenger can get $5,000. It's a strong temptation to the driver to arrang> this anticipatory Christmas present. Of course, if there has been a collision, it's a difféerent "But the point is MAVCh I you and I, foot the bill in the long run. Per-- sonally, I'm in favor of the bill." Passenger Invited to Sue. F. V. Laughton (Conservative, Mid-- dlesex North) had an idea "how the , news got around so quickly." In a case he knew of, "a man connected with the legal profession" had carried damage action papers to the pas-- senger almost as soon as the my reached hospital. D. J. Taylor (Pro-- gressive, Grey North) recalled an-- other case in which "the passenger was invited to sue." F. W,. Wilson (Conservative, Windsor East) saw an anomaly in the,event that the driver went to ijail on a criminal negligence charge, but the passenger's widow and orphans were unable to collect damages. He suggested that a legal distinction might be drawn between simple and gross negligence. George S. Shields (Conservative, Toronto-- Woodbine) favored the bill, and com-- pared the situation with that of an oarsman whose rowboat passenger sued because a crab was caught and the boat tipped. C. A. Seguin (Conservative, Russell) carried Mr. Shields's comparison into serious application to the common law. If highway neglizence was not action-- able, how about the negligence of & motor--boat pilot whose passengers drowned through his fault, or the huseholder whose guests burned to death because he had grossly neglected to guard against fire? Bill Referred to Legal Committee. Liberal House Leader McQuibban, endorsing the bill, noted that 25 per cent. of all disbursement on auto in-- surance were for injuries to passengers. Hon. Charles McCrea closed the de-- bate with a motion that the bill be referred to the Legal Bills Committee, of which he is Chairman. He invited all interested members to come and express their views and produce data. His own view was that the proposal was "a radical departure from exist-- ing law. Involved in it is the very rerious question of an individual's rights, when it is considered that the acts of the driver might be a delib-- erate plan or else the grossest negli-- gence. On the other hand, I have the despest sympathy with the purpose of the bill, and I know that, what amounts to a racket, has developed in collection of auto accident insurance." an 1G°ea now Une, so quickly." In a "a man connected ession" had carried ers to tttt: pas-- soon @6 mf D. J. Taylor (Pro--