Court Opinion

ID: 9683037
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 13:21:24.505643+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:19:28.156162
License: Public Domain

Roberds, J.
(dissenting).
As stated in the able controlling opinion, this Court is committed to the rule that occupancy of the entire crossing by a railroad car is itself sufficient warning of the presence of the car upon the crossing. No other warning is necessary or required. This applies to flat cars, whether moving or standing still. Spilman v. Gulf & Ship Island R. Co., 173 Miss. 725, 163 So. 445, citing Southern Railway Co. v. Lambert, 230 Ala. 162, 160 So. 262. The last pronouncement of the rule by this Court is in Illinois Central R. Co. v. McNeil, 205 Miss: 807, 39 So. (2d) 490. But appellant says the circumstances here were peculiar and exceptional, taking this case out of the general rule. As I understand, his contention is that the exception lies in a combination of three sets of circumstances.
One is the dip in the road. No one claims this was more than a slight dip, or depression. This was a paved road 18 feet wide, muchly traveled. Naturally any dip, or depression, in such a highway would be slight. Witnesses place this from 80 to 180 feet north of the railroad crossing. Appellant says before arriving at this point the lights of his car were above the railroad track but upon reaching it they came down upon the track. Gamble, a witness for appellant, actually measured the distance at which one approaching the railroad from the north at night would see the railroad, using standard lights, such as appellant said he had upon his car. The distance was *425275 feet. In any event, it is not seen liow the existence of this depression could require the railroad to plhce lights, or unusual signals or warnings, of the existence of its cars upon the crossing, for the very simple reason there is not the slightest intimation the railroad ever head of such depression in the road. To so require would make it necessary for every railroad to examine the public highways for appreciable distances on either side of its crossings to ascertain some defect in the public road, which, when passed over by an automobile, might, as a result of the springs under the car, cause the lights thereof to be momentarily raised above or lowered upon the road, and if such defect be found, then to place extra lights or signals as the train, in its legitimate business, moved over or stood upon the crossing. Such a requirement would, of course, be utterly unreasonable.
The second condition urged as bringing this case within the exception is that this was a pulpwood car. The proof is it was 36 to 40 feet long and was standing entirely across the crossing. Boyáis, a railway brakeman, a witness for plaintiff, said this car was 6 feet high. In another place he seems to place the height at 8 feet. Plaintiff himself said the car was of sufficient height above the ground to permit the front of his automobile to run under it. There is nothing in the evidence showing this pulpwood railroad car to be less a warning than a flat car, and, as stated, this Court has held that the existence of a flat car is notice of its presence.
The third exceptional circumstance relied upon by appellant is that he says he was not looking for the railroad track but for a crossing signal to the right of the public highway to inform him the railroad was there. Well, the railroad would hardly be guilty of negligence resulting from the act of the plaintiff in trying to see something to the side of the road on a dark night instead of looking for the track in direct line of his lights. But, under the circumstances here, this contention, to me is absurd. The proof discloses plaintiff, for 40 years, all of his life, *426had lived within the neighborhood of this crossing. At the time of the accident he was operating- a store at Tay-lorsville, some 11 miles north of Soso, on the same highway. In January, 1948, he moved to Summerland, 6 miles north of Soso, on the same public highway. He admitted he had traveled this road and crossed this railroad at Soso two or three times a week for the past 20 years. It is not an unwarranted assumption he had crossed this railroad at this place some 3,000 times. Soso is a small community. The road upon which plaintiff was traveling is the only public highway through the community. The proof discloses that within a distance of 700 feet north of the crossing there are five buildings along the west side of the highway. There appear to be none on the east of the highway. For that 700 feet, as a traveler approaches from the north, the railroad track is plainly visible in the daytime. There is nothing to obstruct the view. Plaintiff was familiar with every one of these buildings, knew who occupied them and the character of business being conducted therein. One structure, a gas station, at the time of the accident was, and for a long time prior thereto had been, located just north of the railroad track on the west side of the highway. Plaintiff had patronized that place. Having’ crossed this railroad for these many years, being entirely familiar with all of the surroundings, how can it be said, with any reason whatever, that, as a normal man, he did not know the location of the railroad? Why was he looking for a crossing sign which he must have known had never been there? Indeed, he is perhaps considerably above the average in ability. At the time of the trial he was operating a farm, a gas station and a grocery store. So we have the spectacle of a normal man claiming he was looking for a sign he knew was not there to inform him of the existence of a railroad he knew was there, and, not getting the information, proceeding to run into a train lawfully occupying its own tracks, of which occupancy the law charged him with notice. But his own testimony disproves his claim he *427needed a crossing sign to inform him of the existence of the railroad. At one point he testified ‘ ‘ I knew the railroad was there somewhere, but I didn’t know just where ’ ’. He was asked whether he was thinking of the railroad track and he replied, “that’s right, just wasn’t thinking about the railroad. I was looking ahead of my car.” Law suits should not be permitted to rest upon absurdities.
This accident occurred November 11, 1948. After-wards plaintiff gave this statement describing the manner of the accident: “I am the owner and was driving the 1947 Model Pontiac Two Door Sedan (Torpedo type) involved in collision with I C freight train at Soso, Miss, about 10:30 P. M. Nov. 11, 1948. I was the only occupant of auto. The train involved was going toward Saratoga and I was traveling toward Laurel on Highway 20. There is a curve in the highway about 3 to 400 feet north of the track and I would judge I was making about 40 to 45 miles per hour. After rounding this curve there is a sharp decline in-the road and the car lights did not show upon the tracks until I was within 35 to 40 feet of the track and it was then that I first noticed a car standing on the crossing. I applied my brakes and the auto skidded into the side of the car, striking- the car between the trucks. The auto was jammed up under the car and we had -to let the air out of the tires to get it out from under the car. The only train man around was the conductor, who was at the depot about 75 feet west. The only injuries I sustained was a small cut on the forehead and deep bruise in lower part of chest on left side, evidently caused by being thrown against the steering wheel. I was wearing glasses at the time and they were broken. ’ ’
In any event it is logically inescapable that the absence of the crossing sign had no causal connection whatever with the accident, since, as held by this Court, the presence of the railroad car upon the crossing was just as much (and that night more) a warning of the existence of the railroad track than a crossing sign could have been.
In my view there is no testimony in this record from *428which a jury should be permitted to find that the railroad was guilty of negligence which produced the injury for which suit is brought. The action of the lower court should be affirmed.