Siegler v. Mellinger
Siegler v. Mellinger
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
A man desiring or being compelled to travel an unknown road on a dark night must always be in some uncertainty, if
There was no evidence to warrant a jury in finding the defendants guilty of negligence. They were under no obligation to construct a footpath, and the one they permitted to be constructed and used there, was not intrinsically dangerous. So far as shown it was a smooth cinder path about four feet wide, running at the side and for the most part on a level with the roadway. At the point where this unfortunate accident occurred, the path was between five and six feet above the road, and a man walking in the dark might, as in this case, make a misstep. But that did not make the place intrinsically dangerous for ordinary travel, which is the measure of defendant’s duty in regard to it.
The opinions of witnesses that the place was dangerous were properly excluded. There was nothing in the situation which a brief description would not enable the jury fully to understand. In such cases opinions of witnesses are not admissible: Graham v. Penna. Co., 139 Pa. 149.
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Cited By
- 8 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Negligence — Townships—Defective road — Contributory negligence — Presumption. A person who walks on the side of, and not in the middle of an unfamiliar country road on a dark night, is presumed to be negligent. Township supervisors are under no obligation to construct a footpath along a country road, and they cannot be charged with negligence in permitting other parties to construct a cinder side path four feet wide along a country road, which for the most part is on a level with the roadway, but which at places is between five and six feet above the road. If a person walking along such path on a dark night makes a misstep and falls over into the road and is injured, he cannot recover from the township. Negligence — Evidence—Opinion of witnesses. Where there is nothing in the situation of the place of an accident, which a description will not enable the jury fully to understand, the opinions of witnesses that the place was dangerous, are not admissible.