Court Opinion

ID: 9854370
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:06:41.259108+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:23:02.737656
License: Public Domain

Mallery, J.
(dissenting)—The facts in this case are indistinguishable from those in Massengale v. Svangren, 41 Wn. (2d) 758, 252 P. (2d) 317, wherein the party having the right of way was permitted to recover. In that case, six members of this court adhered to the principle that the party having the right of way was not negligent, and had *647breached a duty of care to neither the disfavored driver nor himself. The other three members of the court said:
“Appellant, being the favored driver, owed no duty to to respondent, the disfavored driver on his left, to protect her from her negligence, there being no question of last clear chance in this case. However, he did owe a duty to himself to protect himself from the negligence of the disfavored driver.” (p. 762) (Italics mine.)
Thus, all nine members of the court agreed that a favored driver owes no duty of care to the disfavored driver under the terms of ROW 46.60.150 [cf. Rem. Rev. Stat., Vol. 7A, § 6360-88], which reads:
“Every operator of a vehicle on approaching public highway intersections shall look out for and give right of way to vehicles on his right, simultaneously approaching a-given point within the intersection, and whether his vehicle first reaches and enters the intersection or not: Provided, That this section shall not apply to operators on arterial highways.”
The legislature passed the foregoing statute in furtherance of its police power for the benefit of the appellants and all persons similarly situated.
Not being able to harmonize the rule of the majority opinion with either the Massengale case, supra, or the statute, I fear it overrules the former sub silentio, and judicially repeals the latter.
I dissent.