Recent Judicial Decisions
| Date | 01 September 1961 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X6103400508 |
| Published date | 01 September 1961 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Recent
Judielal
Decisions
DANGEROUS DRIVING:
MECHANICAL DEFECT NO DEFENCE
R. v. Spurge
The Court of Criminal Appeal in R. v. Spurge
[1961]
2 All E.R.
688, considered a point hitherto undecided under the Road Traffic
Act, namely, whether a mechanical defect in the vehicle can ever be
relied on as a defenceto a charge of driving in a manner dangerous
to the public, and, if so, what are the circumstances in which a
mechanical defect can be so relied on. Such a defence failed in this
case, the appellant having knowledge of the defect.
As he was travelling round a very sharp and dangerous left-hand
bend, his sports car went over the double white lines in the middle
of the road on to his wrong side of the road and there collided
with an oncoming motor-scooter. The prosecution's evidence was
that he was attempting to negotiate the bend much too fast. The
case for the appellant was that he decided to go round the bend at
a snail's pace and accordingly changed down from third to second
gear and applied his brakes somewhat vigorously. He stated that
this application of the brakes nearly wrenched the steering wheel
out of his hands and pulled the car on to its wrong side in such a
fashion that it was impossible for him to control it. The appellant
called two expert witnesses who testified that the brakes were in
very bad condition and that a vigorous application of the brakes at
30 m.p.h. (his alleged speed) did pull the car fairly violently to its
off-side. He had taken delivery of the car a few days before the
accident and had driven it to his home, a distance of about 20 miles.
He had been told by the man from whom he had brought the car
that the brakes had been overhauled but he, the appellant, had
noticed when driving the car home that the brakes had what he
described as a slight tendency to pull the car to the right.
The conviction of dangerous driving was upheld. The court
desired to emphasize that
"cases
in which a mechanical defect
September-october 357
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