127 Pa. 184 | Pa. | 1889
Opinion,
This case presents an unusual question, one that is not clearly settled, and one of much more than ordinary impor
The defence alleged that the road was in good condition, safe for all the ordinary purposes of travel, and that plaintiff’s injury was chargeable to the fright of her horse, the breaking of her wagon, and her consequent inability to guide or control the horse and keep it within the limits of the traveled roadway. These, it was urged, were circumstances that the township was not bound to anticipate or provide against, and the injury received by means of them was one which was in no sense the natural or probable cause of the acts complained of. This line of defence was presented to the court in the defendant’s points, the third of which asked the following instruction :
“If the jury believe that the horse was frightened by the donkey, and in turning round broke the wheel of the buggy,
In other words, this was a request for an instruction that if the injury received was due to the fright of the horse, the broken wheel, and the dragging axle, and not to a defect in the highway, the township was not liable. This should have been affirmed with some qualification as to the effect of mere loss of control by the driver; for, if the several facts assumed by the point had been found by the jury, the plaintiff was not entitled to a verdict.
Township officers are bound to anticipate and provide against the ordinary needs of travel conducted in the ordinary manner, and to remove obstructions and defects which would naturally or probably cause injury to tlie traveler along tbe highways; but the township is not an insurer against all possible accidents, nor is it bound to anticipate the clanger to which a broken wagon or a frightened horse may expose tbe driver. Such a burden would be too heavy for any township to bear, and tbe law does not impose it. The general rule is well stated in Hey v. Philadelphia, 81 Pa. 44, to be that “roads and bridges are made for ordinary travel; if they fulfil such purpose they are sufficient, and those in charge, of them are not responsible for extraordinary accidents occurring on them.” Negligence is the absence of that measure of care which tho circumstances require. Tbe duty of road officers is to provide for the ordinary needs of travel, but this changes with a change of circumstances. Proximity to a precipice or a railroad track is a visible danger, and requires a degree of care in guarding against it not necessary under ordinary circumstances, yet it is only that care which common prudence would dictate in view of an unusual danger as necessary to safety in the ordinary use of the highway at that point: Lower Macungie Tp. v. Merkhoffer, 71 Pa. 276 ; Hey v. Philadelphia, supra; Newlin Tp. v. Davis. 77 Pa. 317.
The application of this rule to the case in hand is by no means difficult. The road in question is an ordinary country road passing through an open cultivated region, with no un
That an accident did happen is clear, but that fact alone does not settle our question. It is necessary to inquire further whether the accident was the natural or probable result of any act or omission of the township officers which rendered the highway unsafe for the purposes of travel, conducted in the ordinary manner and by the ordinary means of conveyance. If it was, then the plaintiff ought to recover, and the fright of her horse, the breaking of her wagon, and her inability to guide her frightened animal, should not stand in the way of her recovery. These circumstances do not confer on her any rights she would not have possessed without them, nor give her any higher claim on the care of the township officers. On the other hand, they do not take from her any right to which she in common with other travelers was entitled in the use of
Judgment reversed, and venire facias de novo awarded.