Year: 1875

A decision lust announced by the Court of
Apneals, ordering new trial with costs in a
case where person had been hurt while cross
iny a street. is of general interest to our clti-
zcns. The plaintiff had been non-suited in a
lower court, and the General Term had affirmed
that Judgment, which the Court of Appeals now
reyerses The case can be briefly stated. The
plaintiff was on the corner of n street, and
saw truck approaching, but was not aware
that il was about to turn n corner, nor that
piece Of timber that it carried, some thirty feet
in length, projected over the rear OF the truck
The plaintiff was, as she expressed it, swept
"awayn by the timber when she attempted to
cross the street, and was knocked down and in-
iured. The lower Court dismissed the case when
it was shown that the woman saw the truck
on the ground that her own fault i'll attempt
ing the crossing was the cause of the accident.
The Court of Appeals holds that she cOnld not
have been expected to calculate nicely the
sweep of the plank hanging over the end of
the truck. which in turning caught her just as
she left the sidewalk.


Perhaps this decision may call attention to
a class of loads, not unfrequent in our thor
oughfares, that expose pedestrians to great
peril. There are few citizens who
have not at times, when crossing the
streets, found themselves suddenly placed
between the horses of an advancing truck, and
the ends of bundle Of iron rods, or beam,
or perhaps the mast OF a ship, extending over
the rear of some cart or wagon. Ii the vehicle
carryine such n dangerous load stops the en-
tangled foot-pa sSenger behind is pushed by the
horses of the next team hight on the
protru,iing load. ut imminent peril of life or
limb. 1t is we'll that the owners OF such loads
should be held responsible for the dangers they
occasion. The rcckcssncss of their drivers
was illustrated few days ago in our streets
when such load was carried at rapid pace
through crowd of several hundred children
lust coming out of public school.


The number of street accidents has been
largely increased in recent years by the horse
cars. The great majority Of these casualties
occur to children playing in the street. The
frequency of the risk may be judged from the
fact that on a single trip of the Bleccker-s. line
five instances were noted by passenger where
the driver was obliged to put down the brake
suddenly to avoid running over children in
the street. Open cars are more dangerous
than closed ones to passengers getting
OH anu on, tS IL tuc iOotuS Is
missed there is more than an average chance
of going under the wheels. Especially is this
the case when storm-curtains are drawn over
the sides of the car, covering the handles,
which a person designing to get attempts
to seize if he misses his hold, his own for
ward motion toward the car is likely to throw
him under it.


The dangers of street crossings, and the
crowd Of vehicles in many of our streets,
might be materially lessened by some simple
police regulations which have long been
adopted with advantage in other cities.
One of these rules is that in certain
crowded streets all the vehicles shall go one
way. To go the other way they must seek adj
joining, parallel streets. At worst this can
only send them block OF two out of their
route, and they more than gain the time thus
lost by the rarity of detention in "jams" when
all are moving in one direction. In much mar
rover and more crowded streets than our own,
this plan proves eminently successful in pre-
venting blockade Of vehicles. 1t also sim