100 Pa. Super. 63 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1930
Argued May 5, 1930. The appellant maintains a produce yard containing thirteen tracks in the City of Pittsburgh. These tracks are in pairs with a space of about 24 feet on either side of each pair for vehicles to drive east and west for the purpose of loading and unloading cars. There is a crossing, 30 feet wide, running north and south over these tracks. A large amount of business is transacted daily in this yard as the produce is sold and delivered where the cars are spotted.
It appears under the plaintiffs' testimony that about 4:30 in the afternoon of March 12, 1928, the A.B. Produce Company's truck, driven by Charles Reed and on which the minor plaintiff was riding as a helper, entered the yard at 18th Street with a partial load of produce to be put in the car standing on track No. 1. The truck, proceeding at the rate of 15 miles per hour, crossed several tracks on the way to its destination. As it was crossing track No. 10, at a distance of about 5 feet to the left of a draft of cars which were standing flush with the crossing, the cars were moved, without warning, and collided with the truck, pushing it to the opposite side of the crossing and injuring the occupants and damaging the truck. *66
This action was brought to recover damages for the injuries sustained by the helper as the result of the alleged negligence of the defendant company, and verdicts were rendered in favor of the plaintiffs, which the court refused to disturb.
The appellant contends (1) that there could be no recovery as the injured plaintiff had no right to be in the yard at the time of the accident, and (2) that he was guilty of contributory negligence.
It is true, as maintained by the appellant, that there was no proof of any contractual right with or express permission from the appellant company to put the produce in the car and that most of the business of buying, selling, delivering, and transferring produce ended at 2:00 P.M. But from the evidence offered upon the part of the plaintiffs, the yard was open and the crossing was used by vehicles delivering produce from one car to another and for other purposes until 5:00 o'clock. The yard master called upon the part of the defendant admitted that the trucks remained in the yard until that time. The driver and his helper had, under the circumstances, the right to feel confident that the appellant would discharge its duty by exercising a reasonable care and give adequate warning of train movements. With the amount of traffic on this crossing, there was reason for apprehending the use of the tracks by others and precaution was a necessary duty of the appellant in the moving of its cars.
The appellant maintains that under the authority of Gillis v. P.R.R. Co.,
This brings us to the question of the alleged contributory negligence of the helper and driver in failing to "stop, look and listen" before entering on track No. 10. They testified that the truck was stopped at the corner of 18th and Pike Streets about 5 feet from the entrance to the yards, just before entering track No. 14, and where they had a clear vision across the intervening tracks to track No. 1. There were no cars on track No. 14, but on tracks 13, 12, 11 and 10 cars were standing on either side of the driveway. The appellant contends that the driver of the truck should have stopped between tracks 11 and 10 where there was a 24-foot space. They were driving a large 2 1/2 ton truck and although the driver was unable to give its length, it probably would have required most of that space to accommodate it. Stopping at that point would not have given information to the driver that an engine was attached to this draft of nine cars on No. 10 track as the tracks curved to the left and his vision was limited to about four cars. The driver and helper having stopped, looked and listened before committing themselves to the crossings were not required, under the conditions that prevailed, to stop before crossing each of the successive tracks unless there was reasonable apprehension that there would be a movement of cars. It is a well known fact *68
that cars placed upon the siding in railroad yards remain there for hours, and the mere presence of the cars would not of itself indicate their movement. If it is the duty of a driver of a truck crossing a series of tracks, where there is traffic, to stop before entering each track, those following in the rear might be placed in a hazardous position as, for instance, in this case, there is only a 5-foot clearance between the pairs of tracks. This requirement would not only be impracticable, but dangerous. Mr. Justice KEPHART, in Frank v. Reading R.R.,
Judgments are affirmed.