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

addressed to the Advertiser an q
published this morning is OF great
| interest to all those who have to
use "Shauk's 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 OFF the
Street," in this mornings paper, you
give the proceedings in q case in the
Circuit Court of Mrs. Mclean vs..
Nichigishi, ia which a motion for
non-sut was granted by the Court.
In this article 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
an inferior tribunal has the right Of
appeal, to have it decided whether
he or the Judge ia right. st Sad
The Judge in this case, after
granting the motion, took occasion
to make the statement substantially
that was wrong 10 my contention
whereby l claimed that man
driving wagon could not drive on
to person standing or walking in
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 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
giossest 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 passerg,r, til ugh he
may be infirm from disease, has a
right to walk in the carriage way il
he pleases, and is entltl- d to reason
able care on the part of drivers of
vehicles" Thompson on Negli
gsnce, Section 1900
Section 1901, sam4 aut hority:
"The driver of team upon city
and street is bound To au .icipate
the presence of foot passengers, at
the crossing of olher streets, and is
b ound to be m re- alert in looking
olt for them in such places than
9 sewhere 10 the Ordinary road way.
II he fails to look out for than, or
if, after discovering them, he does
not exercise reasonable skill to the
end OF avoiding them, he is guilty
OF culpable negl genre, and
must answer for the damages.
Tne footmau canuot hurt the
horseman or the teamster by col
Iiding with him. He is
the actor; the othsr is 10 sens ,
D ,ssive; and while the other will
not be entirely exonarated by he
law from the consequences OF a
failure to take re isonnbie prscan-
. tions for his own safety, W x
y although he msy negiig My
expose himself to b. run ov,f by he
other. yet this does not excu,e he
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 statement:
"The drivers OF vehicles, horse
back riders, 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
ha;no unohst ruc,ed his horsa under