Court Opinion

ID: 9531880
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:15:38.676881+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:28:36.773887
License: Public Domain

McCown, J.,
dissenting.
I agree that the issue of the constitutionality of the guest statute was not raised in time and is not directly at issue in this case. Nevertheless, cases declaring similar guest statutes unconstitutional such as Brown v. Merlo, 8 Cal. 3d 855, 106 Cal. Rptr. 388, 506 P. 2d 212 (1973), and Henry v. Bauder (Kan., 1974), 518 P. 2d 362, make it clear that the underpinnings which formerly supported the philosophy of guest statutes have been factually and legally eroded. Experience with modern concepts of liability and fault ought to dictate strict limitation of the statute to the narrowest terms possible, rather than the broad and inclusive interpretation adopted by the majority opinion.
Where no-fault insurance laws are being adopted in many states and are being considered in this state, the Legislature’s attention should be drawn also to a reconsideration of the guest statute. The guest statute in Nebraska was enacted in 1931. Guest statutes have been adopted in slightly more than half the states, but more significantly, no state has enacted a guest statute since 1939. Several states have repealed guest statutes, most recently Florida in 1972.
The guest statute in Nebraska is contained in Chapter 39, article 7, Regulations Governing the Use of Public Roads. The accident here occurred on a private driveway and certainly in the absence of a specific reference, rules of the road are not applicable to private roads and driveways. In addition, the plaintiff had not yet entered the automobile and should not be treated as a passenger or rider in the vehicle simply because she had previously agreed to accept a ride, and was intending to become a passenger. The Nebraska statute, by its terms, applies only to “any passenger or person riding in such motor *308vehicle as a guest.” It ought not to be extended by implication.