Bartholomaus v. Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co.
Bartholomaus v. Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co.
Opinion of the Court
It is- contended tbat tbe defendant’s servants were negligent in failing to obey tbe ordinance of tbe city of Milwaukee prescribing tbe duties of persons operating street cars upon tbe streets of tbe city. Tbe ordinance provides :
“It is hereby made the duty of every motorman of an electric car, ". . . before crossing a railway crossing or bridge with such car, to cause tbe same to come to a standstill at least twenty feet from such railroad crossing or bridge, and it shall then be tbe duty of tbe conductor of such car to pass in front of tbe same a sufficient distance to enable him to ascertain whether there is any danger in sight and before said car is again placed in motion before crossing a railroad crossing.”
One of tbe obvious purposes of this ordinance is to protect passengers on street cars from tbe dangers of collisions with railroad trains. It is charged tbat defendant’s servants omitted their duty on tbe occasion of this collision, in tbat they failed to stop' tbe car at tbe required distance from tbe railroad tracks of both railroads at the crossings on Kinnickin-nic avenue. If tbe defendant’s servants actually failed to comply with tbe ordinance as claimed, it would constitute proof tending to show tbe negligence charged, and under such circumstances tbe case should have been submitted to tbe jury for a determination of tbe question. We do not find tbe claim tbat the car was not stopped before crossing tbe Chicago &
It is further urged that the ordinance required that the car should be brought to a standstill at the specified distance from the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Bailway tracks before crossing them, and that the conductor should perform his duties as prescribed by the ordinance before the car was again put in motion to cross them. It must be held that the ordinance was intended to prescribe a safe method of conducting the street-car business at and over railroad crossings for the best protection of passengers and the public against collision with railroad trains. An inspection of the crossing in question shows that the space necessarily occupied in rumring cars and trains over the respective tracks at the points of intersection was so great that this object of protection could not have been attained by stopping street cars between the two railroad companies’' tracks at this crossing. The distance between the main tracks of the two railroads of about eighty-five feet is not sufficient to make it practicable to stop a car so as to avoid the dangers of collision with passing railroad trains. Thi3
It is urged that the conductor failed to go a sufficient distance in front of the car before crossing the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway tracks to enable him to ascertain the ■danger from approaching trains.. The evidence discloses that ■he preceded the car sufficiently in advance to a point between the rails of the first main track, or'between the two main tracks. Prom either of these points he had a clear view of the tracks in both directions and was able to ascertain whether •there was any visible danger from approaching trains in passing the crossing. He then signaled to the motorman to proceed over the crossing. This evidence shows without dispute ■that defendant’s servants complied with the requirements of the ordinances in respect to bringing the car to a standstill at the required distance from the railway tracks and that the conductor was a sufficient distance in front of the car at the ■crossing and in a place to observe the danger from approaching trains.
It is further contended that there is evidence showing negligence of defendant’s servants in attempting to pass over this crossing in the manner and at the time they did, because-they had been informed of the approach of the passenger train before the car was in a place of danger from collision with it. This is urged on the ground that the conductor of the car was informed of the approach of the train by the noise it made as it passed upon a bridge about 300 feet to the south of the •crossing, and that he was warned of its coming by the gate
It is strenuously insisted that the evidence tending to show this state of facts is contradicted by the necessary inferences from physical facts and evidentiary circumstances. To sustain this contention appellant’s counsel submits a number of calculations which are based upon statements of the witnesses, as to the speed of the approaching railroad train, the speed of the car before, at the time, and after the persons in its control heard the approaching train, and the distances the train traveled after defendant’s servant heard the noise of its passage over the bridge. In what respect the result of these calculations can be said to constitute established physical facts we are not informed, nor can we conceive how they can be so regarded. The calculations are based on opinions expressed on the subjects mentioned. This, however, is a very uncertain basis and can furnish no reliable results for ascertaining the exact position of the car with respect to the railroad tracks when its approach was first heard. The calculations are predicated on many facts, assumed to be fixed and certain, but which are mere opinions, and on others which may have varied much from what they were assumed to be. We do not regard these deductions as of sufficient reliability to raise a conflict with the direct evidence on the subject. They are speculative in their character and Can have no probative force as against the uncontradicted positive evidence in the case.
It is also urged that the witnesses on the subject testified
By the Gourt. — Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.