169 A. 160 | Pa. | 1933
Argued September 26, 1933. This appeal is from a judgment non obstante veredicto entered for defendant in an action brought by plaintiff *117 to recover damages for injuries received by him when a truck which he was driving collided with a truck owned by defendant and operated by its servant.
Plaintiff testified that he was driving from Greensburg to Mount Pleasant on State Highway No. 31; that as he reached the intersection of that highway with State Highway No. 119 he slowed down and looked to his right when he was about 20 or 25 feet from the intersection, at which point his view was so obstructed by a store building that he could see along the highway only 50 or 60 feet; that seeing no vehicle approaching he proceeded, in second gear because of the rising grade, at a speed of about 15 miles an hour, without looking again to the right; that when he was at the intersection, he saw defendant's truck coming toward him from the right at a speed of 25 or 30 miles an hour, only 25 feet away; and that he turned sharply to the left to avoid a collision, but that the front of defendant's truck crashed into the right side of his truck, slightly to the rear of the cab.
The court below held that plaintiff's own testimony convicted him of contributory negligence. This was clearly correct; the only conclusion that can be drawn from his testimony is that the accident was caused, at least in part, by his own carelessness and disregard for his own safety. Plaintiff argues that when he looked to the right and saw no vehicle approaching from that direction he was entitled to assume that the road would remain clear and that he could proceed in safety without looking again to the right. A mere statement of the facts as they existed shows the unsoundness of this argument. As the driver on the left, plaintiff would have the right of way only if he reached the intersection so far in advance of a driver on his right as to afford reasonable time for him to clear the crossing and thus avoid a collision: Weinberg v. Pavitt,
Judgment affirmed.