1914 20 Chauffeurs' Licenses

 “Hamilton automobile owners are being warned by the police that they will be responsible for any accidents caused by their automobiles if they hire drivers who have not yet passed the 1914 examination for a license.”

       Hamilton Spectator. January 20, 1914¹

Rules and regulations relating to the use of automobiles were still being developed in early 1914.

In fact, the laws lagged far behind in effectiveness in relation to the rapidly increasing number of vehicles using Hamilton city streets.

On January 20, 1914, the Hamilton Spectator carried an article warning local automobile owners that a new regulation would be into effect at the end of that moth:

“Section 1 of the new motor act reads : ‘No person shall for hire or pay, drive a motor vehicle on a highway, unless he is licensed to do so, and no person shall be allowed to drive a motor vehicle who is not so licensed.’ ”¹

¹ “Police Active to Enforce New Automobile Law : Chauffeurs Must Pass Rigid Examination : Local Motor Car Owners Are So Warned : Each Driver Must Look Pleasant Before Camera.”

Hamilton Spectator.  January 20, 1914.

To begin the process to obtain a license, chauffeurs had to first obtain an application form from a local provincial government office or from Mr. Herbert McPhie, secretary of the Hamilton Automobile Club.

Next the answers to questions on the application were reviewed to ensure that they were correct, and then an appointment made with the local driver examiner, James Kenny. The examiner’s fee for one appointment was one dollar:

“After passing the first examination, the applicant must pass a secondary one which deals with his physical fitness to fill the position (of chauffeur). The applicant then had to make another appointment, this one with Police Chief Smith for endorsation, making up an affidavit before the chief.

“It is also necessary for the applicant to secure two small photo prints of himself, and paste one on the space allotted on the certificate and the other with his application to the provincial secretary.

“Two dollars more must accompany the application. The department will then furnish the license and the badge.”¹

The new system about to be introduced replaced the former system by which anyone by merely sending a dollar to the provincial secretary would be issued a chauffeur’s license.

The Ontario Motor League had been lobbying the provincial government for stronger regulations, with the overall goal of making the use of automobiles safer for both drivers and pedestrians.

As the end of the Spectator article, the new regulation only had focused on chauffeurs :

“Owners of cars do not require a license in order to be able to run their cars.”¹