O'Brien v. Washington Water Power Co.

Citations

• 71 Wash. 688
• 129 P. 391
• 1913 Wash. LEXIS 1388

Syllabus

<p>Street Railroads — Injury to Persons on Track — Negligence— Excessive Speed — Question for Jury. In an action by the driver of a team, struck by a street car, the negligence of the defendant is a question for the jury, where there was evidence that the car was exceeding the speed limit when the motorman first discovered the team on the track 300 feet away, and that the speed was not reduced until within two car lengths of the wagon; exceeding the lawful speed limit being negligence per se.</p> <p>Same — Contributory Negligence — Ordinances—Law of Road. An ordinance requiring all vehicles to keep as near to the right-hand curb as possible was not intended to prohibit the driver of a wagon from driving upon a street car track in the center of the street, and it is not contributory negligence per se to do so.</p> <p>Same — Contributory Negligence — Question for Jury. Where plaintiff testified that he was unable to drive off a street car track in time to avoid a collision, owing to a passing automobile and the skidding of his wheels on the rails, and there was evidence that he was intoxicated and inattentive, his contributory negligence was a question for the jury.</p> <p>Same — Proximate Cause — Question for Jury. Whether the negligence of the defendant or the contributory negligence of the plaintiff was the proximate cause of the accident, is a question for the jury, where a street car collided with a wagon, on the track, through the contributory negligence of the driver in failing to see the approaching car in time to get off the track, and the motorman saw the plaintiff’s wagon on the track 300 feet away, and slowed down and might have applied the emergency brake in time to have avoided the collision.</p>