MOTOR INSURANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 233, 2 October 1928, Page 16

MOTOR INSURANCE.

INTERESTING LEGAL'. ARGUMENT

"One of the odd things about third party motor insurance, so much in the air just now, is that, in theory, /ou never have Jo: pay damages after a motor accident unless the accident was due to your negligence," says "T.D.H." in the "At the same time it is a criminal offence to drive in a negligent manner. And on top of that it has long been laid down that it is public policy to permit anybody to indemnify a man against the consequence of his criminal action. This./ you would: .say, makes motor third party insurance a totally illegal business from top to bottom. But it' doesn't really, for their Honors on the Bench can put the telescope to the blind eye, the same as Lord Nelson did. -; "There was quite an interesting argument 011 this very point in the law courts in London some years ago. An inebriated gentleman who had been dining too well had finished up the evening by getting into his car arid driving down 'Shaftesbury Avenue at forty miles an hour when everybody was coming out of -the numerous theatres in that street. He killed two people and badly hurt a third, and had to gc to gaol for it.„ Then tile .relatives demanded damages and the insurance company refused to pay up. It . was a particularly pure arid highprincipled company and it could never, it saidj do anything so shockingly imirioral as pay out perfectly good money to protect a man who drove in such a wicked and reckless manner as this. "The judge, who was called on to decide! wheher the insurance company ought to pay up whefi inebriated luriatics drove cars, said it was quite true that it was a -wrong thing to protect people against the consequences of their criminal actions. But, he asked the Company, what else do you take people's money for under vow* motor car policies? *If they are' not proved negligent they will not have to pay,anybody; If you aire only going to pay out wheii. they are not negligent you witi never :have to pay out at all. If you say voq will pay when they are, jAst a little bit negligent, and not when they are-grossly negligent ~ how. on earth are you -going to draw a line!" '