165 P.2d 228 | Kan. | 1946
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This was an action for damages resulting from a collision of two trucks alleged to have been caused by a defect in the state highway. The trial court sustained a demurrer to plaintiff’s petition and he has appealed.
A north and south state highway, known as K-99, at a point between Eureka and Severy, in Greenwood county, is intersected at right angles by an east-and-west state highway known as K-96. Each of these highways is improved by a roadway 28 feet wide. At a point on K-99 about 500 feet south of the intersection there is a highway circling to the north and west connected with K-96 about 500 feet west of the intersection. There is a similar circular road at each corner of the intersection. The terrain is practically level at the intersection and in the area covered by the connecting highways. Beginning about an eighth of a mile west of the intersection K-96 is on land that is lower from three to nine feet than the area about the intersection. In the triangular area southwest
Plaintiff does not allege that there was any defect in the 28-foot roadway of either of the highways. His allegations are that the piles of chat, the chat hoist and the road grader so interfered with plaintiff’s view that he could not see the Beason truck as it approached the intersection, and also interfered with the view of Beason; that there were no signs along the highway indicating that he was approaching an intersection, and that this interference with his view, and lack of road signs, amounted to a defect in the state highway, for which the highway is liable under G. S. 1935, 68-419.
Counsel for appellant concedes that he cannot recover unless his injury was caused by a defective condition of the highway within the meaning of G. S. 1935, 68-419, and that he has no authority to,
There is or can be no contention in this case that the piles of chat and road-building machinery mentioned cut off plaintiff’s view to the left all the time he was approaching the intersection from the south after he got to where the circular road went out each way to highway K-96, and there was nothing at all to obstruct his view for the last 75 to 90 feet. If there were obstructions to the view from the side it simply placed upon the plaintiff a greater degree of care in his approach to the intersection.
We do not see that the allegations of the petition that no signs had been put up indicating that a traveler was approaching an intersection add anything to defendant’s liability. Certainly, if plaintiff could not see the roads going off from K-99 to K-96 as much as 500 feet south of the intersection, and could not see the intersection itself as he drove toward it, additional signs would not have been of any advantage. The only authorities he cites in support of his allegation concerning the signs are cases dealing with roads under
We feel confident in holding, as a matter of law, that the collision which caused the injury for which plaintiff sued was not caused by any defect in the state highway.
While another question is discussed in the case by the appellee we find no occasion to treat it.
The judgment of the court below is affirmed.