Opinion ID: 1968365
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Causal Negligence of Bus Driver.

Text: Sec. 346.19 (1), Stats., provides that: Upon the approach of any authorized emergency vehicle giving audible signal by siren the operator of a vehicle shall yield the right of way and shall immediately drive such vehicle to a position as near as possible and parallel to the right curb or the right-hand edge of the shoulder of the roadway, clear of any intersection and, unless otherwise directed by a traffic officer, shall stop and remain standing in such position until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed. This statute required the bus driver to do two things as soon as he heard the siren of the ambulance to his rear. First, he was to clear the intersection and drive the bus as close to the west curb as possible. Secondly, he was required to then stop the bus. In passing on the questions of whether he complied with this statute, and, if he did not, whether such violation of the statute was causal, we must accept the version of the credible evidence which sustains the verdict. Rossow v. Lathrop (1963), 20 Wis. (2d) 658, 663, 123 N. W. (2d) 523. Because there is a conflict in the testimony as to whether the bus was stopped or moving at time of impact, we must assume that it was still in motion. Furthermore, we must accept the testimony that the right side of the bus was then four feet from the west curb. The jury would have been warranted to infer from the slow speed of the bus that it would have been possible for the driver to have cleared the intersection and pulled over into the parking lane marked No Parking and to have stopped next to the curb. Therefore, the jury could rightly conclude that the bus driver failed to comply with sec. 346.19 (1), Stats., in both respects. Turning to the question of causation, we do not deem as causal the fact that the bus may have been in motion instead of being stopped. We do determine, however, that the failure to have had the bus close to the west curb instead of four feet out in the street was causal. The jury could well conclude that if the bus at time of impact was three feet closer to the curb the accident would not have happened. This is a proper situation in which to apply the but for test in determining whether a particular act of negligence was a substantial factor in causing the accident giving rise to plaintiff's damages. See Chapnitsky v. McClone (1963), 20 Wis. (2d) 453, 465, 466, 122 N. W. (2d) 400.