Opinion ID: 1197590
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Testimony of Captain Corning.

Text: During trial appellant attempted to elicit testimony from its expert witness, Captain Edgar Corning, as to whether there had been sufficient distance after the Pike vehicle encroaching in the eastbound lane for a motorist to pass around the vehicle and return to the proper lane of travel before encountering the McGee truck. Appellee objected and the court sustained the objection on the grounds there was no foundation to warrant expert testimony as to this point. Although Corning had performed certain studies regarding safe passing distance, there was no showing that the conducted tests in any measure approximated the conditions  roadway width and conditions, visibility, vehicle speed, grading, and so forth  which confronted the decedent on the night in question. For this reason the trial court found the proposed opinion testimony of the witness too speculative. In reaching this conclusion the trial judge recalled the evidence previously adduced concerning the conditions on Chena Hot Springs Road. We find no error either in the superior court's conclusion reached or the method by which it was reached. The decision to exclude was well within the discretion we have afforded trial courts in controlling expert testimony. See Grasle Electric Co. v. Clark, 525 P.2d 1081, 1085 (Alaska 1974); Burgess Construction Co. v. Hancock, 514 P.2d 236, 237 (Alaska 1973).