Sieb v. Central Pennsylvania Traction Co.

Citations

• 47 Pa. Super. 228
• 1911 Pa. Super. LEXIS 139

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Street railways — Use of streets — Fright of horse — Duty of motorman.</p> <p>1. So long as common user of the streets exists in the public it is the duty of a street railway company to exercise such watchful care as will prevent accidents or injury to persons, who without negligence on their own part, may not at the moment be able to get out of the way of a passing car. The degree of care to be exercised must necessarily vary with the circumstances of each case.</p> <p>2. When one who is without fault is unexpectedly placed in a position of peril, he is to be dealt with in the light of his surroundings at that time and he is not necessarily negligent even though his judgment has been wrongly exercised.</p> <p>3. Where a motorman sees ahead of him a frightened horse and the efforts of the driver to turn the horse across the tracks, at a distance of from sixty to eighty feet, and it appears that he could have stopped his car within thirty feet, but he fails to do so, hits the wagon, and passes beyond it thirty feet before stopping the car, the question of the motorman’s negligence is one for the jury. The question of the driver’s contributory negligence in attempting to turn the horse as he did, is also for the jury.</p> <p>Negligence — Conveyance for hire — Passenger.</p> <p>4. The negligence of a driver of a wagon cannot be imputed to a passenger on the wagon, where there' is no co-operation between the passenger and driver, and the passenger has no control over the conveyance and does not attempt to exercise any.</p>