200 Pa. 337 | Pa. | 1901
Opinion by
All the assignments of error in this case raise but one question, the contributory negligence of the plaintiff.
According to the plaintiff’s own statement, when he- found the lantern was out, he rose up and turned to the right to look out. He could see nothing of the lantern, nor could he see the horses, it was so dark. He sat down, and found at that time that he had reached the summit and was beginning to go down hill. It is apparent, therefore, that there was ample time after the plaintiff knew that the lantern was out for him to have stopped his team and re-lighted it, before the accident happened. He was so well acquainted with the road that he must have known that he was approaching that portion of the road flanked by the embankment. In addition to this, he knew, of course, that one of his horses was blind, or partially so. The evidence points irresistibly to the conclusion that the plaintiff contributed by his own negligence to his injury.
The case is in line with Mueller v. Ross Township, 152 Pa. 899, the facts being very similar. As was there stated, “ There are few country roads that are safe -at night when it is so dark that nothing can be seen. Knowing, as he did, the condition of this road, of the curve, the embankment and the slope, and, trusting entirely to his horse to select the traveled part of the road, the plaintiff assumed the risk.” This language is most appropriate to the case in hand.
In Winner v. Oakland Township, 158 Pa. 405, “ A person who has knowledge of the dangerous condition of a public highway, and ventures to drive over it, assumes the risk of personal injuries resulting from the bad condition of the road.”
In the present case, however, it is not alleged that the road was in bad condition, the charge of negligence against the town
The first assignment of error is sustained, and the judgment .is reversed.