Magistrates' Courts
| Published date | 01 January 1977 |
| Date | 01 January 1977 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201837704100102 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Magistrates' Courts
Comments
on
Cases
TEST
TO
BE APPLIED WHEN
DRIVER
(CHARGED
WITH
CARELESS DRIVING) COLLIDES
WITH
CAR IN
FRONT
SUDDENLY BRAKING
R. v.
Horne
Acharge
brought
against
the
defendant
alleging
that
on
the
lst
day
of
May,
1976 he
drove
a
motor
car
on a
road
carelessly,
contrary
to
section 132 of the
Road
Traffic Act
(Northern
Ireland)
1970 was
heard
at
Londonderry
Petty Sessions by
Mr.].
M.
Shearer,
Resident Magis-
trate.
The
facts were simple
and
occur
on most
of
our
roads frequently.
The
defendant
was driving his
motor
car
behind
another
motor
car
going in the
same
direction,
both
travelling
about
50
m.p.h,
on a fast,
straight
stretch
of
road.
The
driver
of
the first
car
was waved
down
by a
friend on the footpath
and
he
braked
suddenly.
The
defendant
did
not
see the
car
in front being waved
down
nor
had
he
any
warning
that
the
leading
car
was
about
to
brake
until it
made
an emergency stop,
whereupon
the
defendant
braked
hard
and
pulled to his
right
but
his
left front wing collided with
the
right
back
mudwing
of the
car
in front.
The
distance
between
the
two cars when travelling was such
that
had
the leading
car
not
made
an unexpected emergency stop,
the
following
car
could
have
avoided
running
into
the back
of
the leading car.
The
basis of the prosecution was,
that
where one
driver
is follow-
ing
another,
it is his
duty
as a
matter
of law
that
the
driver
of the
following
car
leave sufficient
space
between
himself
and
the vehicle in
front to
enable
him
to pull up
without
coming
into
collision with the
vehicle in front in
any
circumstances or emergency which
might
arise.
The
Resident
Magistrate
said
that
having
regard
toScottv.
Warren
(1974
CLR.
117) he found
that
the
duty
on
the
driver
of
the
following
car
was
not
as high as
that,
but
rather
that
the test was
"Did
the
following
driver
so far as
reasonably
possible take up such aposition
and
drive in
such
afashion as would
enable
him
to deal successfully
with all traffic exigencies reasonably to be
anticipated",
and
that
whether
he passed this test
must
in every case be a
question
of fact
having
regard
to all the circumstances.
There
are
emergencystops
and
emergency stops.
The
matter
is
one
of
degree
and
in every case all the
surrounding
and
relevant facts
must
be considered in,applying the
said
test.
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