Renner v. Tone
Renner v. Tone
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Earl Renner, aged nineteen, and his brother, were invited to ride to their home on a small Ford truck. Earl stood on the running board, as the truck was too small to permit him to be seated in the car. The driver of the truck kept his vehicle on the left side (the wrong side) of the street for a distance of 1,140 feet, — from the time the boys got on the car until he attempted to cross to the side where he should have traveled. During this time there was nothing to prevent the boys or the driver from observing the traffic approaching, and, for a distance of 450 feet before the accident occurred, it is clear there was nothing to obstruct the vision. Within this space the driver had ample room and time to place his car out of danger, by traveling on the side of the street where it should have been. But he waited until within a few feet of some approaching traffic, when suddenly, without warning, he swung his car toward the right side of the street and was instantly struck by a street car coming behind him. Plaintiff saw the street car some distance away, at a time when the auto was traveling about twenty miles an hour, and when the driver attempted to cross to the right side the street car was about one hundred feet away, as plaintiff states, though the front part of the truck was struck just as it reached the rails of the track. As a result of the collision with the street car, the truck was thrown against a huckster wagon proceeding on its own side of the street.
Plaintiff, as the guest of the driver, was equally responsible with him for the accident (Minnich v. Easton Transit Co., 267 Pa. 200, 204; Hill v. P. R. T. Co., 271 Pa. 232; Martin v. Pa. R. R. Co., 265 Pa. 282), as he knew, from the speed and manner of driving, the approach of the traffic towards them and the street car’s coming from the rear, that, unless a turn to the right
Judgment affirmed.
Concurring Opinion
concurs solely on the ground that the evidence fails to disclose any negligence on the part of defendant.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Renner v. Tone, Receivers
- Cited By
- 13 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Negligence — Automobiles—Street railway — ■Invited passenger in automobile — Contributory negligence of guest — Nonsuit. 1. A guest in an automobile is guilty of contributory negligence, where it appears that he saw that the automobile was being driven on the wrong side of the street, and, from the condition of the traffic, that an accident was inevitable, but failed to warn the driver, although he had ample time to do so. 2. A motorman is not bound to anticipate that an automobile traveling in the same direction as his ear will be suddenly turned into the car’s path.