Bailey v. Market Street Cable Railway Co.

Citations

• 110 Cal. 320
• 42 P. 914
• 1895 Cal. LEXIS 1059

Syllabus

<p>Negligence—Injury from Street-car — Contributory Negligence — Careless Stepping upon Track—Nonsuit.—In an action to recover damages for personal injuries received by plaintiff from collision with a moving cable-car, the act of the plaintiff in stepping backward upon the track in front of the moving car, without noticing an approaching car upon the track some ten feet distant, and in plain view, is contributory negligence, as matter of law, proximately contributing to the injury; and a nonsuit is properly granted upon that ground.</p> <p>Id.—Duty of One Who Crosses Railroad Track—Standard of Negligence.—One who crosses a railroad track is required to be on his guard, and, as the law now stands, the standard is fixed that one must look up and down the track, and anything short of that is negligence.</p> <p>Id.—Right of Way of Street-car.—A street-car has, from necessity, a right of way over that portion of the street upon which alone it can travel, paramount to that of persons and ordinary vehicles, though this superior right is not exclusive, and does not prevent others from driving or passing across or along its tracks at any place or time, when by so doing it will not materially interfere with the progress of the cars.</p> <p>Id.—Passage of Cars—Duty of Citizen.—It is the duty of the citizen, whether on foot or in vehicles, to give unobstructed passage to the cars, which cannot turn out or leave the track, and which are operated by companies chartered, presumably, for the convenience of the public.</p>