Court Opinion

ID: 9691037
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 20:03:29.558669+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:09.498447
License: Public Domain

Kelly, J.
(concurring in affirmance). This appeal does not present conflict between the 2 well-known principles of law, namely — (1) assured clear distance ahead and (2) sudden emergency.
Defendant created a sudden emergency at a time when plaintiff was legally and properly operating his vehicle. I agree with the trial court’s opinion, which states:
“At the conclusion of plaintiff’s proofs, both sides rested, with the defendant maintaining that even though he himself was negligent, that the plaintiff cannot recover because he failed to stop in safety within the assured clear distance ahead. Admittedly the plaintiff could not stop his vehicle within the space separating his truck from that of the Mercury at the time the defendant commenced his heedless and reckless course of conduct. * * *
*414“The sole question to be decided is whether the driver of the plaintiff’s vehicle was guilty of such contributory negligence as bars its recovery.
“Defendant claims that plaintiff was guilty of such negligence, which as a matter of law, bars his recovery. With this position I cannot agree.
“At the time this unhappy chain of events began to unfold, plaintiff was operating his vehicle in a careful and prudent manner. He was perfectly within his rights in attempting to follow the Mercury station wagon around the defendant and the Alger truck. Had the defendant remained in his lane of traffic, no accident would have occurred. Suddenly there was created an emergency not of the plaintiff’s own making. It is from this time that we must judge the plaintiff’s action to determine whether he acted as a reasonably prudent man, and did all that such a man would or could have done to avoid the accident. In attempting to follow the station wagon, he had no warning that he would be suddenly called upon to stop because of the negligence of the defendant. He was in no apparent danger, nor did he have reason to anticipate that the actions of the defendant would create such danger. Admittedly, he could not stop his heavily loaded train within the distance which separated him from the Mercury, but he had no reason to anticipate that the negligence of the defendant would make such stopping imperative. Under the circumstances I cannot hold the plaintiff was guilty of negligence, as a matter of law.”
The driver of a slow-moving vehicle cannot suddenly turn into the path of a passing vehicle which is being driven in a legal and prudent manner and then absolve himself of his negligence by invoking the assured clear distance ahead rule of the road. The judgment of the trial court should be affirmed.
Voelker, J., took no part in the decision of this case.