MOTOR COLLISION.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 August 1922, Page 6

MOTOR COLLISION.

CLAIM FOR DAMAGES. EVIDENCE FOR DEFENCE. The hearing of the claim by Eleanor Mary Crofts for £lOBO 4s Od as general and specific damages against Herbert H. Johnston, motor proprietor, Waitaraagain occupied the whole of yesterday’s sitting of the Supreme Court at New Plymouth. The evidence for the plaintiff was concluded on Saturday morning, and yesterday morning Mr. P. O’Dea opened the ease for the defence. His Honor Mr. Justice Chapman presided. Before the hearing was resumed, the foreman of the jury (Mr. C. Waterson) informed his Honor that some members considered that they should view the scene of the collision. When th? case was opened, Mr. O’Dea had offered to make arrangements to convey the jury to the scene, but they considered that plans of the locality produced in court would be sufficient. Mr. Waterson, however, informed His Honor yesterday that after having heard the plaintiff’s evidence they considered it would be better to go out themselves. Mr. O’Dea addressed the jury traversing the plaintiff’s evidence and that which he would call, and then put the driver of the lorry, Thomas Moore Campbell, of Waitara in the box. Witness gave details of the manner in which he had loaded the bridging material on tb the lorry, the pole they were carrying being placed so that the weight would be distributed over the chassis. The pole projected about two feet over the bonnet and about ten feet over the rear jof the lorry, of which the space between the rear wheels was the widest part. Witness had previously carried 30ft and sometimes 45ft poles over the same road. He was accompanied by a man named Clare, and witness was driving. Waitara was left at about a quarter to ten, and witness enumerated a number of vehicles he passed on the road to Motunui. He climbed Marshall’s hill.on low gear, as the engine was not pulling too well. C/wing to the nature of the road he had to‘keep to the centre, and as he reached the crest he heard a Dodge car coming up on his right. He gave room and got into a hollow and after the Dodge had passed he got out and changed into second gear. The Dodge was well over to its left, and witness noticed an Essex car pass it. ACCIDENT DESCRIBED. He kept on with his right wheel in the centre of the road, easing over to the left a<\ the Essex approached. When they passed they were almost a chain and a half from the accident. He changed into gear, and noticed Greenwood’s car coming round the Dodge. Greenwood appeared to swing round the Dodge over to his left, back into the centre of the roaa, and then a. little over to his right, finally setting a course which witness estimated would clear him by about four feet. Greenwood, however, swung right across his front, the front wheels being on the grass at time of impact. It was quite impossible for Greenwood to have passed him on his wrong side. Witness reckoned that when he changed into top gear he would not be going more than five miles per hour. After the collision he and Clare assisted in pulling the injured people out of the car, and Clare then went for assistance. Witness had refrained from comment on the accident owing to the sufferings of the injured, but, thinking that Greenwood wished to speak to him. he followed , him round the car when Greenwood remarked, half unconsciously, and to no-one in particular: “I thought I couldn’t get past owing to this timber. ’ Putt had at that time come up and remarked to Greenwood that he could see that he (Putt) had got past all right. Continuing, witness said that his left front wheel was on the grass and his right front wheel three feet over to the left from the centre of the road. All the motor traffic witness saw passing the scene of the accident that day passed on the metal. He had been in a two seater Ford doing 30 miles on the grass slope alongside the metal, all wheels being on the grass. Witness added that the possibility of an accident had not occurred to him until Greenwood had swung across his front.

Cross-examined, witness said that he had driven a lorry on that route about half-a-dozen times prior to the accident. Chare had gone with him to help unload. He did not hear Kirk in the Dodge sound his horn coming up Marshall’s Hill. Langley would be making a mistake if he said witness’ tracks ran straight from the top of the hill to the scene of the accident. The carrying of a projecting pole would riot make any difference to the steering. The right edge of the front of the pole would be about '4 to 8 inches over the right edge of the mudguards. When Putt passed the Dodge he would be about two chains away from the scene of the accident, while Greenwood and the Dodge passed at about a white gate some four chains away. In addition to doing the grass slope trip in a ford, he had also done it in a five seater Studebaker, once at 30 and again at 35 miles per hour. The Studebaker had a speedometer in it. OTHER WITNESSES. E. William Marsh, carrier. Waitara, stated that on the day of the accident he was driving a 3 ton Leyland truck, and though he met Campbel] in a narrow part of the «oad they passed quite easily. Coming back from Waitara he passed the damaged vehicle on the road, with his left whec’s just off the metal. He past them again a couple of times that day. and had no difficulty in passing He estimated that Campbell was driving at about seven to eight miles per hour when he passed. Mr. O’Dea proceeded to examine on witness’s opinion of Greenwood’s driving. Mr. Quilliam protested, but His Honor allowed Mr. O’Dea”s question. The witness stated that Greenwood did not appear too good coming towards him, and he personally always allowed him plenty of room. Jie also thought that Greenwood drove too fast. To Mr. Quilliam: The second and third time he passed the Occident he travelled at about 8 miles an hour and did not stop. George Skelton, Motonui, gave evisgnceriusy seeing thg

Campbell on Marshal’s Hill and also seeing Putt’s Essex car coming down. He then described the position of the lorry and the ear after the collision. There was half the road available for any vehicle to pass. The tracks revealed that the lorry had been inclining over to the left but Greenwood appeared to be zig-zagging. To Mr. Quilliam: Brown passed the scene of the Occident on the metal. He had no difficulty in picking up the Ibrry tracks.

W. L. Beaufort, agent, Hawera, also gave evidence concerning the tracks of the lorry and the car, the relative position of the rear of the log on the road, and the position of the front wheels. He passed the scene of the collision in his Ford car without leaving the metal. He had met Greenwood two or three times and always got out of his road. Greenwood seemed to be always zigzagging, and witness did not know which side he was going to,take one on. He considered Greenwood a reckless driver.

In reply to Mr. Nicholson, witness stated that, he passed the lorry and ths car at about 25 miles an hour.

James N. Northcroft, carrier, Waitara, gave evidence concerning passing Greenwood on the Waiau Hill in his Leyland lorry. Greenwood was taking up all the road, and to avoid hitting him witness had to pull off the road. He always gave Greenwood plenty of room. Later on he passed the scene of the accident, and there seemed plenty of room to get by. Edward William Lysons, surveyor, New Plymouth, produced a sketch of the road showing its width between fences and the amount of grass on either side. A sketch of the loaded lorry compiled . from data supplied him also accompanied the sketch. If the lorry after the collision were at an angle of 45 degrees, the rear end of the log would be a foot from the far edge of metal. To bring the end of the log over the centre of the road the lorry would have to be at an angle between 15 and 30 degrees. The ground on the seaward side of the road was bumpy, and, in his opinion, unsafe for motor traffic. From the photograph produced by Mr. O’Dea, he would estimate that the wheel of the lorry shown was just* about the junction of the metal and the grass. Replying to Mr. Nicholson, witness said he had gone along the grass slope in his Ford car at about 10 miles per hour. He had three passengers with him. This completed the evidence for the defence, and the Court adjourned till this morning.