CHAPTER 34 - MOTOR VEHICLES
AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR SECURITY FOR THE PAYMENT OF DAMAGES CAUSED BY THE OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES."
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
Section 1. That Chapter 14, Volume 37, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by repealing Section 1 of said Act and by inserting in lieu thereof a new Section 1 as follows:
Section 1. The Vehicle Commissioner of the State shall require proof of financial responsibility to the extent of at least Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) to satisfy any claim for damages founded upon personal injury to or the death of any person, and to the extent of at least One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) to satisfy any claim for damage to property, from every driver of a motor vehicle who, subsequently to the time when this Act takes effect, shall have been adjudged guilty in any Court having jurisdiction thereof of any of the following offenses, namely:
1. Manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle;
2. The crime of assault in which a motor vehicle is used and the death of a human being results;
3. Driving a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or narcotic drug;
4. Perjury or the making of a false affidavit to the Department under this Act or any other law of this State requiring the registration of motor vehicles or regulating their operation on highways;
0. Any crime punishable as a felony under the motor vehicle laws of this State or any other felony in the commission of which a motor vehicle is used;
6. Conviction or forfeiture of bail upon three charges of reckless driving all within the preceding twelve months;
7. A conviction of a driver of a motor vehicle, involved in an accident resulting in the death or injury of another person, upon a charge of failing to stop and disclose his identity at the scene of the accident; or such proof of financial responsibility to satisfy any claim for damages as aforesaid may be required from the person, firm or corporation in whose name any such motor vehicle is registered; or from both. If such driver or registrant shall fail to furnish such proof, as shall be required by the Vehicle Commissioner under the provisions of this Act, then said Vehicle Commissioner may, until such proof shall be furnished, suspend the registration of any motor vehicle registered in the name of such driver and/or such registrant, and/or refuse thereafter to issue to such driver a license to operate a motor vehicle in this State, and refuse thereafter to register any motor vehicle owned by such driver and/or registrant, or if such driver and/or registrant shall not be a resident or residents of or located in this State, withdraw from such driver and/or registrant the privilege of operating any motor vehicle in this State, and the privilege of operation within this State of any motor vehicle owned by such driver and/or registrant, or refuse to register any motor vehicle transferred by such driver and/or registrant if it shall not appear to said Vehicle Commissioner's satisfaction that such transfer is a bona fide sale. In the event that the driver and/or registrant is a non-resident, then it shall be the duty of the Vehicle Commission to transmit to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, or officer in charge of the issuance of operator's permits and registration certificates of the State of which the driver and/or registrant is a resident, a formal notice of his action in the premises.
Section 2. That Chapter 14, Volume 37, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby further amended by repealing all of Section 7 thereof and by inserting in lieu thereof a new Section 7 as follows:
Section 7. The said Vehicle Commissioner may cancel any such bond or return any such evidence of insurance, or the State Treasurer may, with the consent of the said Vehicle Commissioner, return any such money or collateral to the depositor thereof, provided such proof of financial responsibility shall have been furnished and consistently maintained for a period of three years and during which time the person furnishing the same shall not have been convicted of any offense mentioned or referred to in this Act and provided no action shall be pending nor any judgment shall remain unsatisfied, arising out of the operation of a motor vehicle, against the person, firm or corporation furnishing such proof of financial responsibility.
Approved March 27, 1935.