Opinion ID: 2209506
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Factual Findings and State's Duty

Text: As noted above, witness Batterscher testified that he had previously seen water pool on Highway 136 at the accident site and Batterscher also stated that on the day of the accident, Woollen passed him on the highway shortly before Woollen lost control of his car. Woollen testified that he did not remember exactly how fast he was going before the accident and that he did not recall seeing the pool of water before he drove into it. Based on the evidence, the trial court found that 40 m.p.h. was the appropriate driving speed for the conditions existing at the time the accident occurred. The trial court further found that a driver traveling at that speed would have seen the pool of water and would reasonably have been able to slow his or her vehicle before entering the pool. The trial court found that Woollen did not decrease his speed prior to driving into the pool of water where the hydroplaning started. The trial court found that the ruts at and in the vicinity of the accident site rendered the surface of Highway 136 dangerous to motorists, especially during periods of rain and water accumulation. The trial court found that the State had actual notice of the ruts' depth and that according to the State's safety standards, the ruts posed an unacceptable safety risk, but that the State did not repair the ruts as it had a duty to do. The trial court found that the State knew of previous accidents at the location in question. The trial court concluded that at the time of the accident, the State had no duty to rebuild the culvert and headwall, as there was no evidence that they had been negligently designed and constructed in 1955. However, based upon the minimum design and safety standards adopted by the State and introduced into evidence that showed the culvert and its headwall to be in a danger area, the trial court concluded that the State had a duty to warn motorists of the hazard posed by the inadequate clear zone between the paved road's edge and the culvert and headwall and of the corresponding need for motorists to travel at a reduced rate of speed, or to construct guardrails or crash cushions to lessen the possibility of a collision with the culvert's headwall.