310 Mass. 495 | Mass. | 1941
The plaintiff in the first case brought this action of tort to recover for personal injuries and for damage to his motor truck and trailer, which were struck by a
Apger, hereinafter referred to as the plaintiff, was a resident of Akron, Ohio, during all of 1938, and he did not during that year reside in this Commonwealth or have any regular place of business here. His motor truck and trailer were duly registered by him in Ohio "and with the Interstate Commerce Commission” but neither the truck nor the trailer was registered under the laws of this Commonwealth and no permit had been issued to him under G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 90, § 3, as amended by St. 1933, c. 188. See now St. 1939, c. 335. We assume in favor of the plaintiff that the motor truck was transporting goods in interstate commerce at the time of the accident. The first trip that this truck made in this Commonwealth during 1938 occurred on January 18, and thereafter, and up to the time of the accident, it made eighteen trips each of a day’s duration. Our law, in force at the time of the accident, limited the privilege of a nonresident to operate his motor vehicle upon the highways of this Commonwealth to a period of thirty days in any one year, commencing from the time he first operated upon the public ways in that year unless, after this period, he registered his automobile here or unless he
All residents of the Commonwealth are required to secure registration of their motor vehicles, and no registration can be secured until the applicant has obtained liability insurance or furnished a bond that will run for the period for which registration is sought and which is to be used to secure the payment of certain damages that might be incurred by third persons from the operation of the motor vehicle. All nonresidents, at the time of the plaintiffs’ accident, were permitted to operate their motor vehicles upon our highways for a limited period, and, after that, they were required to secure a permit from the registrar of motor vehicles which would not be issued unless the applicant had obtained a contract of insurance similar to that required of residents. In this way the public policy of the Commonwealth requiring compulsory liability insurance from resident owners was extended to nonresidents who desired to continue the operation of their vehicles upon our ways after the lapse of the limited period. The purpose of the permit was to produce readily available tangible evidence that the owner of the automobile furnished insurance for the protection of the public. It might be thought that many of the thousands of nonresident owners of automobiles, especially those who sojourn here during the summer season and who come from States that do not require
The question here raised is not likely again to be presented, because in the year following this accident, the Legislature, by St. 1939, c. 325, amended G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 90, § 3, by permitting the operation of vehicles owned by nonresidents without requiring them to register here or to secure permits, provided they have secured liability insurance to satisfy the claims that may arise from the operation of the vehicle.
It is urged that the provision of the statute requiring of nonresidents a permit to operate for any time beyond this thirty-day period does not apply to one like the plaintiff who is engaged exclusively in interstate commerce, and that, if it does, it violates the commerce clause of the Fed
But the plaintiff now contends that the Commonwealth, since the enactment of the Federal motor carrier act, did not have the right to require a permit from the plaintiff to entitle him to use the highways, because the power of the State in this respect over the operation of motor vehicles engaged in interstate commerce has been superseded and suspended by the congressional legislation last mentioned. It is undoubtedly true that, during the nonexercise by Congress of the regulatory power entrusted to it by the Constitution of the United States over interstate commerce, a State may regulate matters generally considered as of local concern although interstate commerce is thereby affected. It has been recognized that the use of its highways, constructed and maintained by a State at its own expense, is a subject peculiarly of local concern, and that a State may regulate such use for the promotion of safety and for the conservation of its ways although such regulations affect not only vehicles moving in intrastate commerce but also those engaged in interstate commerce. Whenever Congress has extended its power over an entire field, then there is no area within that field that a State may invade, and existing State statutes must yield to the paramount authority of Congress. Kelly v. Washington, 302 U. S. 1. Commonwealth v. O’Neil, 233 Mass. 535. Commonwealth v. New England Transportation Co. 282 Mass. 429. If Congress has taken over only a part of the field, then State legislation may still function in reference to matters of local concern that have not been withdrawn from the State by congressional action. It was recently said, with an abun
Our inquiry is whether our statute requiring a permit before a nonresident owner of a motor truck engaged in interstate commerce can lawfully operate his vehicle upon our highways after a limited period is in conflict with the Federal motor carrier act, or with any of the regulations of the interstate commerce commission established in pursuance to that act, which was passed for the purpose of establishing uniform regulations by the interstate commerce commission covering that portion of interstate commerce which is conducted by motor vehicles operating throughout various States. The commission is authorized to regulate different aspects of interstate motor transportation including the establishment of reasonable requirements to promote safety of operation. U. S. C. Sup. IV, Title 49, § 304 (a) (3). Regulations requiring the carrier to obtain liability insurance in certain amounts and in companies authorized to transact business in the States in which the carrier conducts his business have been prescribed by the commission, and the Commonwealth cannot now require an interstate carrier who has been licensed by the interstate commerce commission to procure additional or different liability insurance from that prescribed by the commission. University Overland Express, Inc. v. Alsop, 122 Conn. 275. William Atkin
The plaintiff has not pointed out any provision of the motor carrier act or any regulation of the interstate commerce commission that either expressly or by fair implication denies the power of the Commonwealth to require him to have a permit and we are not aware of any such provision. Neither do we find that our statutory provision in reference to a permit is in conflict with any of the provisions of the Federal motor carrier act. This is not a case where the plaintiff has been refused a permit or where his right to
There remains the contention of the plaintiff that, if the Commonwealth was empowered to require a permit from a nonresident owner of a motor vehicle, the application of such a requirement to him would be violative of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The plaintiff’s use of the public ways differed from the ordinary use made by citizens in travelling and transporting their property in the exercise of a right common to all. The plaintiff was using the ways for private gain derived from a commercial enterprise where the ways became an instrumentality by which the business was conducted. The plaintiff’s business stood in substantially the same relation to the public ways as does the business of a railroad corporation to its roadbed. A classification by the State based upon that relationship could not be said to be without rational support if the State attempted to enact regulations governing the privilege of use by such carriers upon a basis somewhat different from that imposed upon other users of the highways. But no such regulations were made. Indeed no classification of nonresident owners of motor vehicles using our ways has been made. All nonresident operators were treated alike, whether they were driving pleasure or commercial vehicles. All were allowed a limited period of operation free from any requirement of insurance or a permit, and after the expiration of that period all were required to have both. No discrimination was made because of the nature of the commerce in which they might engage while here. There was no discrimination against interstate commerce. All nonresident
The plaintiffs have not argued that the statute requiring a permit abridges their privileges and immunities as citizens of the United States, and we treat the point as waived. Commonwealth v. Dyer, 243 Mass. 472, 508. Boston v. Dolan, 298 Mass. 346, 355-356.
Exceptions overruled.