HORSE V MOTOR CAR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 184, 18 August 1903, Page 2

HORSE V MOTOR CAR.

{ 1 JUDUMENT FOR DEFENDANT. ' ' ATtheS.M. Oourt on Monday morning Mr S'atiford gave judgment in the casi in which Mr Newton King claimed £4O fi < in Ryan and 00,, of Auckland, f. r irjury to a hor?«. Mr Qiilliam 1 (G jvett and Qui liam) »pp >sred for the' 1 phintiff; and Mr Grey (Wilson and, ' Grey) instructed by Hesketh and RichJ mond, of Auckland, for the defendant

| company. _ I After re'narmng that in cases of col-1 lision on a higbwsty a conflict of ev:d-i ence is to be expected, on account of the rapi-Hty of the occurrence and ■he [ nervous excitement of th* Mri Stanford expressed his belief that bo h j O.'b, II and Tiah?, the parson - cKefiy concerned, endeavoured to «ivu a pjrfoctly truthful acciun 1 . of what occuvrpd lit; then qiot- fl th* ' vtdos-ce of some of th« prit cp'il f s • s, a'ld ; w lit on to say: Do -Unjt then wilh: the facte, and those facts first with; the speed at which the car was travelling, the Motor Oar Reguhtion Act, 1902, sec'ion 4, says that the fpsed must be " reasonable." As hr as I koow this is the fi si caso in the colony in which it has been necessary to givo an intfrpretation to the word 1 reasonAble " in this connection, It sofms plain thit the word must bs interpreted according to Eurrounding circurastmces. The rate of Epeed which would be reasonable on a straight fl it country road, would be unreasonable iu a hilly country road or a road with many bends, or in tha crowded m <in thoroughfare of a town. In the present case the cirs were on a fairly flat, and from the bridge onward nearly straight roid, whita 'he tri-.ffi:: is moderate, robbing like a cru-th of veh'cles being likely to occur. TJmler these circumstances I should consider any fp3td not; exceeding twenty milos in the hoiir " reasonable," while from the evidence it is abundantly clear that the cars in this case were gonless than fifteen and probably le s thanj ten mil san hour. A good de tl was said by coanstl for the plaintift oa tha point that a motor cir was a dangerous vehicl», m aning dangerous to pHSsers by, on the road, on horseback, or in a vehie'e, aod that in consequence the drivor of such a car was bound to exercise extreina care in driving, or be guilty of negligecc'. While agreeing that motor cars must, at tha present time, be considered a danger on the publia roads, since horses are not as yet accustomed to their appearance, it may be pointed out that this f*ct renders it obligatory on thosa in charge of hors s to exercise extreme cire in passing a mo'or car. The motor cir his the same rights on a public road as the horse, neither mare nor less, and s is well to remember this fact, which is apt to be forgotten, while its appearance on the public roads is s ill somewhat of a novelty. From tbe evidence in this case I have come to the conclusion tint Tighe, the driver cf Ryan's car, ■ exhibited the greatest skill and caution at the time of tha accident. The evidence shows that he is c~n sidered a very skilled driver, and liis conduct on the date of the accident leaves nothing to be desired. He was on his propei side of the road going at a very reasonable he threw tho ear out of gear whe 1 he saw Orbeli coming, and put hin fi.o on the brnlc»' raady to act, what more could h ; hav dona ? On the o''her band, Orb 11 is f-hown to be a skilled horseman, and I do not desire iu any way to disparage j his skill. What I really think happened was this: Orbcll's horse shied at the first car, and when he came to the second car, he says, '*l f quired him up so that he could B=o the motor and face it." I have no dou'ot that coascicusly or unccn ciously—probably the latter, he touched his horsa with the spur in his effort to make him fans the c*r, and thui forced him a foot or two newer the car, the horse reared and came down on th 6 wheels. There is one matter in Orb -It's evidence which is incor.c iva'ile, he says, " Bayly's or was in ihu cautre of the road, hipassed me Mn.i frightened the h'jrse,, which B» ervid on to tha metal," that | is, being frightened, th* hors • swerved I in the direction of the which] frightened it. I characterise this i-'ate j ment as qu'te inconceivable, horses always, without exception, swerve aw*y from the object' which alarms them. As it is necessary for the plaintiff f-fflrma-tively to prove negligerca on th- pir' of the defendants, and, as I have said, there was in my opinion no n?gli2enc» on the part of defendants, judgment will be accordingly. Judgment for defendants.

Witnesses' expanses il 17s 21 were allowed the defendants, and solicitor's fee, £2, '