Opinion ID: 1699145
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Negligence of Plaintiff Ronald Baker.

Text: The question of the verdict, which inquired with respect to plaintiff Ronald Baker's negligence, read, Just before the accident, was the plaintiff, Ronald Baker, negligent for his own safety? The jury answered this question No. Appellant contends that the trial court erred, as a matter of law, in declining to answer this question Yes. Appellant maintains that Baker was negligent in these two respects: (1) Riding with a driver whom he knew, or should have known, was under the influence of intoxicating beverages; and, (2) failing to maintain a proper lookout. At the time of the accident Baker was nineteen years of age and lived with his parents on a farm five miles east of Sarona. On the evening of the accident, Zaloudek called for him around 9 o'clock at the Baker home. They drove first to Sarona and from there to Rice Lake which is 14 miles southeast of Sarona. On the way each drank one can of beer from a six-pack in Zaloudek's car. They spent their time at Rice Lake at a tavern where each had 10 sevenounce glasses of beer. They remained at the tavern from approximately 10 p. m. until 1 a. m. and then drove back to Sarona. At one point between Rice Lake and Sarona, Zaloudek drove at 70 miles per hour and Baker protested. At Sarona they went to a restaurant where each had a hamburger. Their waitress was Betty Kaiser. Two other patrons, Rudolph Richter and Lawrence Wenzel, were in this restaurant at the time. Miss Kaiser, Richter, and Wenzel all testified that they talked with Baker and Zaloudek and that both spoke normally and clearly. Wenzel, who had known Zaloudek prior to the accident, stated that Zaloudek walked no differently that evening than he normally did. Baker and Zaloudek left the restaurant shortly before 2 a. m. Baker testified that when the car approached the intersection with Highway 53, he did not look to the left, or north, and never saw the truck or its headlights. Baker relied on Zaloudek to look to the left while he looked to the right and then straight ahead. As he looked ahead he saw a flash of light, and then the collision occurred. Prior to our decision in McConville v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. (1962), 15 Wis. (2d) 374, 113 N. W. (2d) 14, the conduct of a guest in riding with a host, whom, it was contended, the guest knew had indulged in intoxicating beverages to an extent likely to impair his ability to properly operate his automobile, was customarily submitted to the jury as assumption of risk rather than contributory negligence. Topel v. Correz (1958), 3 Wis. (2d) 495, 498, 89 N. W. (2d) 295; Vandenack v. Crosby (1957), 275 Wis. 421, 435, 82 N. W. (2d) 307; Frey v. Dick (1956), 273 Wis. 1, 9, 76 N. W. (2d) 716, 77 N. W. (2d) 609. [2] Now, subsequent to McConville, supra, the jury considers such conduct of a guest in a question phrased in terms of the guest's possible negligence as was done under the instant special verdict. A jury issue was presented as to Baker's possible negligence for his own safety in riding with Zaloudek on the night of the accident, in view of the latter's drinking of beer. Three witnesses, who conversed with Zaloudek at the restaurant shortly before the accident, all testified that his conduct appeared to be normal. We cannot hold that Zaloudek's drinking of one can and 10 small glasses of beer over a four and a half-hour period prior to 1 a. m. to Baker's knowledge rendered Baker negligent as a matter of law in riding with Zaloudek at 2 a. m. As this court remarked in Vandenack v. Crosby, supra (p. 435): It is common knowledge that the consumption of alcoholic beverages does have a tendency to dull the senses of perception, although the quantity of alcohol sufficient to produce such result in one individual may have no apparent effect on another. With respect to Baker's possible negligence as to lookout, the evidence again made this an issue of fact for the jury and not one of law for the court. A building at the northwest corner of the intersection obstructed the view to the north of the two occupants of the Zaloudek car until the car was fairly close to the intersection. Baker relied upon Zaloudek to look to the left, or north, while he first looked to the south and then straight ahead. A guest is not held to the same degree of care with respect to lookout as is the driver. Vandenack v. Crosby, supra (p. 434); Krause v. Hall (1928), 195 Wis. 565, 569, 570, 217 N. W. 290. A jury would be entitled to conclude that a guest seated to the right of the driver is not negligent if he relies upon the driver to look to the left, as the car approaches a blind intersection, while the guest looks to the right.