Lambs In Cab Of Truck Led To Accident

Chronicle (Levin), 8 October 1949, Page 4

Lambs In Cab Of Truck Led To Accident

' — " ' When Rangi Matakatea, lorry driver, of Levm, aiiowed nine lambs to ride with him in the oab-of his vehicle he let himself in for considerable t.rouble and questioning from Mr, A, A. . MeLachlan, S,M., who advised him not to do it again. Resuiting from the truck hitting a pole on the Levin-Foxtqn f highway, Matakatea appeare'd ih the Magistrate's Court, -Levin, yesterday,. charged with driving without due qare and attention. it -w^ stated by Sergeant W. . Grainger, proseeuting, that the collision naa; bropght down the • power lines, which had f allen across the road. The power had been off for some tirne, . the defendant haying n'egiecte4 to notify the Power Board of ,ohes occurrence. " • Constable A. T. Kelk gave evidence that he had proceeded to the area following advice of an accident and had recognised the Vehicle as being ownea by a Mr. Everton. . Constable Kelk then described the position of the truck and the damage, stating that the vehicle had been left incorrectiy parked a .short distance from the pole. ' He had coptacted the driver later and he had admitted driving the vehicle, stating that the lambs he had had With him in the cab had become tangled with his feet and the controls, and when taking his eyes off the road for a brief second to free them the truck had collided with the pole. Appearing for. defendant, Mr. N. M. Thomson questioned-the legality of the charge as framed, basing this on a previous ruling of Mr. A. M. Goulding, S.M., in the Levin : Court. The police, he contended, would have to bring evidence of careless driving by means of witnesses of the accident. Just because a vehicle was found in a certain position was not evidence in itself of careless driving. The magistrate said that the constable was only giving evidence of facts as he knew them. Sergeant W. Grainger said that the defendant had admitted. having ^ambs in the cab with him and a prudent driver would not have aone that, The magistrate, in agreeing said that it was certainly an extraordinary case of uhneeessary rigk being . taken by the driver. "The only possible defence would be that the defendant was quite assured that the lambs would lie down like perfect gentlemen and keep perrectly still," he added. To the court, defendant stated that the day following a sam he nad been instructed to pick up 26 sheep, or actually 13 sheep and 13 lambs. The lambs were two days old and very small, and after loading them on the tray he discovered chat there was a risk of some of the lambs being crushed. He had extracted nine of them and placed chem' in theiioabp"'there"Ivbemg;*"a* f riend in the cab as a passenger. The passenger had held five of ^hem in his lap, the balance being on the floor on the left-hand side of the cab. They had all been quiet up until a few minutes before the accident. He could not apply his brakes because one of them was under the brake pedal, he added, in reply to a question from the magistrate. The magstrate: You must be a -amb yourself. Surely you must have known that they would start crawling around. Why even a lamb two hours old will start to waddle about. Couldn't you have obtained a large box to put them in? * Defendant: I could not get a box. The magistrate: Did your boss tell you to put them in the cab? Defendant: No. The defendant, in reply to a question from his counsel said that the truck was one usually used for stock carrvine-. :>

The magistrate: Did it-have an extra compartment m it for lambs? Defendant: No. The magistrate: Then it should have. You do not seriously suggest that the lambs remained perfectly quiet and still all that distance and then suddenly made nuisances of themselves? In reply to a question as to who the. passenger was, defendant replied that he was a Mr. Broughton. The magistrate: Not Broughton the jockey? I should imagine he would. be able to control them. ( Defendant: No; another Broughton. "I think the lambs would: have been better in their mother's lap rather than your Mr. Broughton's," the magistrate added with a smile. Summing up, Mr. MeLachlan said that he would dismiss the case against defendant, who might have thought that he was only using his initiative, but warned him to be more careful next time.