Most Car-Owners Exempt From Crackdown Threat

Most student car-owners with out-of-state registrations have little to fear from City Councilor Joseph A. DeGuglielmo's drive to crack down on them if they carry the proper insurance, a high official of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles said yesterday.

The official revealed that 35 states have reciprocal agreements with Massachusetts which permit students to operate here on their home state registrations for an unlimited length of time. "Students from eight other states have the same privileges unless they are employed here," he added. Only Arizona, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Oklahoma cars have a limited time to register here.

DeGuglielmo's order, if passed by the Council next Monday, will direct the Captain of Traffic to prosecute owners of illegally registered or improperly insured out-of-state cars.

Cambridge Police Chief Patrick F. Ready declared, however, that he would not carry out any order of the City Council in conflict with the reciprocity agreements, "especially if it is directed to one of my subordinates."

Meanwhile, the Registry spokesman warned students that they faced a $125 fine if they failed to comply with the Massachusetts Compulsory Insurance law, which requires a coverage of $5,000 for public liability and $10,000 for property damage. "A stricter enforcement of this law by the city may result in more arrests," the official said.

At the same time Motor Vehicle officials from states which have a large number of cars in Cambridge were disturbed by DeGuglielmo's proposal.

Arnold H. Wise, Chief Counsel for the New York Department of Motor Vehicles, favored "an immediate investigation." Wise said that New York, which has a reciprocal agreement with Massachusetts, might take "retaliatory action" if the order, aimed primarily at out-of-state cars, is adopted.