Messinger v. Pennsylvania Railroad

Citations

• 215 Pa. 497
• 64 A. 682
• 1906 Pa. LEXIS 831

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Railroads—Grade crossings — “Stop, look and listen” — Safely gates.</p> <p>In an action against a railroad company to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff while driving a two-horse wagon across defendant’s tracks at grade on a highway, the case is for the jury where there is evidence that the plaintiff did stop, look and listen at a point where he could see the tracks for a distance of eighty feet from the crossing, that this was the point where people usually stopped to look and listen, that there was no other point from which a further view could be obtained until some of the tracks were crossed, and that at the crossing in question the safety gates were raised.</p> <p>Safety gates which should be closed in case of danger, if standing open, are an invitation to the traveler on the highway to cross, and while this fact does not relieve the traveler from the duty of exercising care, it is a fact for the consideration of the jury in determining whether he exercised care according to the circumstances.</p>