Court Opinion

ID: 9751276
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 16:19:31.435891+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:26:42.211998
License: Public Domain

Dissenting Opinion by
Mr. Justice Bell:
Plaintiff got off a trolley car and walked to the curb. Seeing the light green in his favor, he walked across the street and crossed the westbound trolley tracks. As he was crossing the eastbound trolley tracks, he saw a bus which he wished to board stop at the opposite corner. He started to run without looking to the right or left and never saw defendant’s automobile until it was on top of and hit him. In other words, plaintiff walked (or ran) approximately 30 feet across a street without looking to his right or his left until he was hit by the defendant (just after he crossed the eastbound trolley track).
A pedestrian is not allowed to walk and a driver is not allowed to drive across a street or road with closed eyes or an inattentive mind. He must look before he crosses and continue to look as he crosses a street; and he is liable for failure to see and avoid what he should have seen and avoided if he had looked: Lewis v. Quinn, 376 Pa. 109, 101 A. 2d 382; Thompson v. Gorman, 366 Pa. 242, 77 A. 2d 413; Riley v. McNaugher, 318 Pa. 217, 219, 178 A. 6; Shapiro v. Grabosky, 320 Pa. 556, 559, 184 A. 83; Stevens v. Allcutt, 320 Pa. 585, 587, 184 A. 85; Grande v. Wooleyhan Transport Co., 353 Pa. 535, 538, 46 A. 2d 241; Scull v. Epstein, 167 Pa. Superior Ct. 575, 76 A. 2d 245; Harris v. Commercial Ice Co., 153 Pa. 278, 280, 25 A. 1133; Glancy v. Meadville Bread Co., 340 Pa. 452, 17 A. 2d 395.
*251In Harris v. Commercial Ice Co., 153 Pa., supra, the Court said (page 280) : “. . . People are not entitled to walk the streets with closed eyes and inattentive minds. There is no situation in life, involving danger whether much or little, in which the law does not require a due and proportionate amount of care and attention. Even on a city street a man must heed what he is doing and where he is going, or he cannot complain of the consequences. . . .”
In Glancy v. Meadville Bread Co., 340 Pa., supra, the Court affirmed a judgment non obstante veredicto, and said (page 455) : “In its opinion entering judgment n.o.v. the court below said: 1 . . He cannot be oblivious to danger; he cannot walk by faith. People are not entitled to walk across roads with closed eyes and inattentive minds. He must heed what he is doing and where he is going or he cannot complain of the consequences. A pedestrian who crosses the left-hand side of a road without looking to the right might often find his further progress blocked and be in peril between traffic moving in both directions. Weaver v. Pickering, 279 Pa. 214 [123 A. 777]; Virgilio v. Walker, 254 Pa. 241 [98 A. 815]; Arnold v. McKelvey, 253 Pa. 324 [98 A. 559]; Harris v. Commercial Ice Co., 153 Pa. 278 [25 A. 1133]; Anderson v. Wood, 264 Pa. 98 [107 A. 658]. . . .’”
In Lewis v. Quinn, 376 Pa., supra, plaintiff started to drive his car across Roosevelt Boulevard when the light turned green in his favor. After he had gotten across the center lane and still had the green light he was struck by another automobile approaching at right angles. Plaintiff was traveling only 12 to 13 miles an hour; there was no evidence of the speed of the defendant’s car. There was no evidence whether plaintiff looked or didn’t look for approaching traffic -when he entered the intersection of the Boulevard. *252Under these facts we held that plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law, and quoting Kline v. Kachmar, 360 Pa. 396, 61 A. 2d 825, said, inter alia (page 114) : “. . . ‘As to the plaintiff, even though he did have the right-of-way, it was, of course, his duty to looh both to his right and left for any approaching traffic on College Street before entering the intersection and to continue so to looh while crossing the intersecting street-. Riley v. McNaugher, 318 Pa. 217, 219, 178 A. 6; Shapiro v. Grabosky, 320 Pa. 556, 559, 184 A. 83; Stevens v. Allcutt, 320 Pa. 585, 587, 184 A. 85; Grande v. Wooleyhan Transport Co., 353 Pa. 535, 538, 46 A. 2d 241.’ ”
In the instant case, if plaintiff had looked, as the law requires him to do, the defendant’s car would not have struck him after he had walked approximately 30 feet in the street intersection.
Applying the aforesaid principles to the testimony in the instant case, it is clear that plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law. I would therefore reverse the judgment of the lower court and grant a judgment non obstante veredicto.