Case Name: ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILROAD COMPANY et al. v. MARSHALL
Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Decision Date: 1954-01-14
Citations: 89 Ga. App. 740
Docket Number: 34842
Parties: ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILROAD COMPANY et al. v. MARSHALL.
Judges: Sutton, C. J., and Quillian, J., concur.
Reporter: Georgia Appeals Reports
Volume: 89
Pages: 740–749

Head Matter:
34842.
ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILROAD COMPANY et al. v. MARSHALL.
Decided January 14, 1954
Adhered to on rehearing February 27, 1954.
Peacock, Perry & Kelley, Jesse W. Walters, for plaintiff in error.
Burt & Burt, Hilliard Burt, contra.
R. W. Reynolds, amicus curiae.

Opinion:
Felton, J.
The court did not err in overruling the general demurrer to the petition. Under repeated rulings of this court, this court cannot say that the sole proximate cause of the collision was the negligence of the driver of the automobile in which the plaintiff was riding, in failing by the exercise of ordinary care to discover and avoid the consequences of whatever negligence the defendants were guilty of, in view of the allegation of impaired visibility at the time of the collision (Georgia Northern R. Co. v. Stains, 88 Ga. App. 6, 75 S. E. 2d 833, and cases cited), or that the sole proximate cause was the failure of the driver to exercise ordinary care before the alleged negligence of the defendants was discovered or should have been discovered.
The court erred in denying the motion for a new trial on the general grounds, because the evidence did not authorize a finding that the defendant was negligent in any particular which contributed to the plaintiff's injuries. The mere act of stopping railroad cars on a crossing for such a length of time as might be reasonably necessary in the conduct of the railroad's business would not constitute negligence on the part of the defendants. Other facts must be shown, to place on a railroad and its employees the duty to give the traveling public warnings of the presence of the train on the crossing, in addition to. that which is given by the train itself. Mann v. Central of Ga. Ry. Co., 43 Ga. App. 708 (160 S. E. 131); Gay v. Smith, 51 Ga. App. 615 (181 S. E. 129). In this case the only other fact relied on to impose the additional duty on the part of the defendants was the presence of fog, smoke, and extreme darkness in the atmosphere. It is conceded by the defendant in error, and correctly so, that the factor of fog and smoke is necessary to establish liability in this case, and the decisions are clear and numerous on this question. Georgia Northern R. Co. v. Stains, supra, and cases cited. See also Brinson v. Davis, 32 Ga. App. 37 (122 S. E. 643). Georgia law requires headlights on motor vehicles operated on the public streets or highways which will illuminate 500 feet. Code (Ann. Supp.) § 68-316. In order to establish liability in this case, it was necessary for the plaintiff to prove by competent testimony that the fog and smoke impaired the driver's visibility to such an extent that he did not have clear vision for 500 feet, otherwise the fog or smoke would not have been a material factor. The evidence in this case failed to show to what extent visibility of the driver was impaired, which left the question of liability one of mere conjecture. No witness testified as to the extent of the impairment of the driver's visibility, either directly or by proof of circumstances from which a conclusion could be legitimately drawn. On the question of visibility, the driver testified that, when he started around the car in front of him, he ran into "a kind of haze" and that it was an extremely dark night. • Another witness testified that it was "pretty smoky or foggy and it was hazy in the dark"; another, that it was a dark night-; another, that it was cold and damp, foggy and dark; another, that it was more or less hazy, that it was inore or less dark and foggy or smoky-looking in the open, field to the right where the asphalt plant was; another, that it looked more or less like a haze or fog or something of that sort settling in the open land; another, that there was a haze up and down the road; another, that they saw a haze or smoke or fog all up and down the road, but that he would not say it was concentrated on this crossing; another, that the atmosphere seemed to be hazy in the vicinity of the train. (Other witnesses testified that there was no fog or smoke and that visibility was not restricted.) The driver of the automobile in which the plaintiff was riding testified that he was following the car in front, running at the rate of forty miles per hour, that in passing the automobile in front he increased his speed to fifty miles per hour, and that it required a distance of 1,200 feet to pass the automobile. He testified that, when he had passed the automobile and started back into the right-hand lane of the road, he turned on his bright lights and could see the box car across the road fro,m 125 to 130 feet. It would be well to emphasize the fact that the driver did not testify as to the degree of impairment of visibility, but simply stated how far ahead of him the train was when he turned on his bright lights. Since the'evidence was insufficient to authorize a finding that the defendants were negligent in failing to warn the public of the presence of the train or the crossing in some manner other than that of the train itself, the court erred in denying the motion for a new trial on the general grounds for the reasons stated. No other question raised by the general grounds is considered or decided.
The court deems it unnecessary to pass on the special grounds.
The court did not err in overruling the general demurrer to the petition.
The court erred in denying the motion for a new trial on the general grounds.
Judgment on demurrer affirmed; judgment on the motion for a new trial reversed.
Sutton, C. J., and Quillian, J., concur.