The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1901-10-17
The Right of Pedestrians.

addressed to the Advertiser an d
published this morning is OF great
interest to all those who have to
use Sharks mare" aud not flying
machines or vehicles in or out OF
gear when travelling in the streets,
We take the liberty to reproduce
the letter which reads:
In your article, keep Of the
Street," in this mornings paper, you
give the proceedings in a case in the
Circuit Court of Mrs. Mclean vs..
Nichigishi, ia which motion for
non-suit was granted by the Court.
In this article l do not intend in any
way to criticize the action Of the
COURT, for every lawyer who is ag-
grieved at the decision of Judge OF
au inferior tribunal has the right OF
appeal, to have it decided whether
he or the Judge is right. t 3d.
The Judge in this case, after
granting the motion, took occasion
to make the statement substantially
that was wrong in my contention
whereby l claimed that man
driving a wagon could not drive on
to person standing or walking 10
the street with his back toward the
vshicle, aud without a word of
waning, run him down, without be
ing punishable. l challenged OPP
posite counsel to show any authori
ty for the monstrous proposition
that a woman walking along the
road must keep looking to the rear
to prevent being run over by persons
coming upon her, when she is in
plain view. Common sense would
teach US that such dangerous
doctrine ought not to be established.
1t would open the door for the
glossest kind of wrongs and injuries.
This being a. matter of such i'm
portance to the community, quote
below the authorities upon the pro.
position.
"a foot passergr, til ugh he
may be in6rm from disease, has a
right to walk in the carriage way il
he pleases, aud is -nt.ti+ d 70 reason
able care on the part of drivers of
vehicles" | Thompson on Negli
gsnce, Section 1900
Section 1901, same aut hority:
"The driver of a team upon city
and street is bound to au .icipate
the presence of foot passen gers, at
the crossing of olher streets, and is
bound to be m re- alert in looking
oat for them in such places than
9 sewhere 10 the Ordinary road way.
II he fails to look out for them, or
if, after discovering them, he does
not exercise reasonable skill to the
end OF avoiding them, he ia guilty
OF culpable negl genre, and
must answer for the damages,
Il The footmau canuot hurt the
horseman or the teamster by COL
Iiding with him. y y He is
the actor; the othsr ia 10 senss
passive; and while the other will
not be entirely exonarated by the
law from the consequences OF a
failure to take re isonnbis precau-
tions for his own safety, W 4
y although he may negig My
expose himsslf to be run ovM by the
other. yet this DOES not excu,- The
latter in running over him il he
discovers his exposed position in
time to avoid the catastrophs, or
if, by the exercise Of that degres OF
care which the person SO driving the
instrument OF danger, owes to
others, he might have discovered it
in time to have avoided the catas
trophe."
Section 1904 OF the same authority
contains the following statements:
"The drivers OF vehicles, horse
back riders, y y y have been
held prims facie guilty Of negli-
gence in the following oases: Where
driver approached from behind
and ran upon person walking in
the street, the vision of the driver