16 A.D.2d 727 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1962
This is an appeal by the State of New York from a judgment of the Court of Claims for damages to the claimant for injuries resulting from an automobile accident. The claimant sustained injuries when the driver of the automobile in which he was a passenger was allegedly blinded by the headlights of an approaching automobile, which caused him to leave the travelled portion of the highway and strike a pole 5 feet 10 inches from the edge of the pavement. The road was 24 feet wide, consisting of two lanes, each 12 feet wide, and separated by parallel white lines. There was a dirt shoulder 4 feet wide and according to the testimony, the car travelled laterally some 5 feet 10 inches from the edge of the pavement until it collided with a utility pole. The road at the scene of the accident is in the shape of an “ S ” curve, the pole being located as described above and within the highway right of way. Approximately 270 feet before entering the curve, there was a reverse curve sign and a speed warning