Opinion ID: 1924529
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Whether the trial court erred in its refusal of CMF's proposed jury instruction D-16.

Text: ¶ 30. CMF contends that the morning of July 18, 1996, when Hailey's vehicle struck the trailer, was foggy with a visibility of 100 feet, at most. CMF submitted Jury Instruction D-16 which, CMF insists, accurately reflects the law under these circumstances: You are instructed that, under Mississippi law, a driver of a vehicle has a duty to drive his car at a speed at which it can be stopped within his range of vision when something hinders the driver's vision. You are also instructed that a driver must drive at such a speed as to be able to stop when an obstruction becomes visible through the fog. If you find from a preponderance of the evidence that Thomas Hailey could not have stopped his vehicle within the range of his vision when he determined that the Choctaw Maid tractor trailer rig was turning onto Highway 21, and that such inability to stop was a proximate contributing cause of the collision with the Choctaw Maid Farms tractor trailer rig, then you shall find contributory negligence on the part of Thomas Hailey. ¶ 31. CMF states that since Hailey was driving in a heavy fog with restricted visibility, he was required to drive at a rate of speed which would permit him to stop within his range of vision. The general rule is well established that it is negligence for a motorist to operate an automobile on a highway at such speed that it cannot be stopped within the range of the driver's vision. Butler v. Chrestman, 264 So.2d 812, 815 (Miss.1972). Hailey argues that after the refusal of instruction D-16 submitted by CMF, the court then granted instruction C-14 which rewords D-16 and accurately reflects the law as it exists in the State of Mississippi: You are instructed that under the law of the State of Mississippi that when a driver's vision is reduced or blinded to the extent that he cannot see in front of him at a distance within which he can stop his car at the rate of speed he is traveling, he is required to reduce speed and bring his car within such speed so that he can stop within the range of his vision. Under the circumstances existing on July 18, 1996, if you believe that Thomas Hailey's vision was reduced or blinded to the extent that he could not see in front of him at a distance within which he could reduce his speed and stop his vehicle, then he had a duty to reduce his speed and bring his vehicle to a speed in which he could stop his vehicle within his range of vision. If he failed in this duty, then he was negligent. If you believe that this negligence, if any, contributed to the accident, then you shall assign a percentage of fault to him. ¶ 32. We agree with Hailey and find no error in the trial court's grant of instruction C 14 and its refusal of CMF's proposed instruction D-16.