Funk v. Woyak
Funk v. Woyak
Opinion of the Court
The appeal presents issues of fact. The defendants contend that the court erred in not finding plaintiff negligent as a matter of law in attempting to pass the truck within..the highway intersection, and that such negligence was at least as great as that of- the truck driver.
We find nothing in the record which requires the conclusion that the jury should not have believed the story told by the plaintiff. She testified that at some distance east of the intersection she blew her horn preparatory to attempting to pass the truck, that when she made such attempt the driver increased his speed, and that because of such increased speed and the fact that another car was approaching from the op
We do not consider that under the circumstances the provisions of sec. 85.16 (6), Stats., require that it be held as a matter of law that the plaintiff was guilty of negligence in attempting to pass the truck. The statute provides:
“It shall be unlawful for the operator of any vehicle to overtake and pass any other vehicle proceeding in the same direction at ... an intersection of highways unless permitted to do so by a traffic officer or upon highways which are properly marked by traffic lanes.”
It should be observed that the statute prohibits the passing of a vehicle “proceeding” in the same direction at an intersection. It cannot be said that if the jury believed the plaintiff, as they had the right to do, the truck was “proceeding.” If the contention of defendant were to be sustained it might well be asked: “How long should a following car be required to stop in a traffic lane blocked by the preceding car before attempting to pass?” Certainly the statute does not contemplate that the driver of the following car must wait for an indefinite period before attempting to pass a vehicle stopped and blocking a lane of traffic.
By the Court. — Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Funk v. Woyak and others
- Status
- Published