Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Pidd, 13757.

Citation197 F.2d 153
Decision Date21 July 1952
Docket NumberNo. 13757.,13757.
PartiesATLANTIC COAST LINE R. CO. v. PIDD.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)

G. L. Reeves, Tampa, Fla., Charles Cook Howell, Wilmington, N. C., for appellant.

William A. Hamilton, Olin E. Watts, Jacksonville, Fla., John Marshall Green, Ocala, Fla., for appellee.

Before HUTCHESON, Chief Judge, and BORAH and STRUM, Circuit Judges.

STRUM, Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal in a railroad grade crossing case, tried to a jury, with verdict for plaintiff below.

Mrs. W. D. Pidd, a 46 year old housewife for whose death the verdict was returned, was driving a car with her sister as a passenger in the right-hand front seat, along U. S. Highway 441. About one mile east of the town of Oklawaha, in Marion County, Florida, where the highway runs approximately in an easterly-westerly direction, defendant's tracks cross it diagonally from southeast to northwest, at an angle of about 35 degrees. Decedent was unfamiliar with the crossing, though she had once crossed it going in the opposite direction several days before her fatal injury.

When injured, decedent was driving from west to east along the highway. The train was proceeding from southeast to north-west, thus approaching the crossing from the right-hand side of decedent's car — the side away from the driver. The railroad tracks southeast of the crossing, from whence the train was approaching, are straight and level for approximately half a mile. The highway is straight and level for a distance of about 657 feet west of the crossing, where it begins to curve to the south. The decedent had just rounded this curve and was proceeding easterly along the straight stretch of road when the collision occurred. Approaching the crossing from the west, going toward the east, as was decedent, several warning signs are in view. At a distance of 563 feet west of the crossing, there was painted on the pavement with white paint, a sign consisting of a large "X," extending about 21 feet along the highway, flanked on its right and left by a large letter "R." On the south shoulder of the highway, on decedent's right, 279 feet west of the crossing, there was a round reflector type warning sign, 30 inches in diameter, with a black "X" flanked on either side by the letter "R." At a point 184 feet west of the crossing, there was a white sign, 3 by 4 feet, at an elevation of 7 feet above the ground, bearing diagonal black lines making a large "X" across it face, and reading "Stop — R. R. Crossing — Fla. Law." On the pavement 25 feet west of the crossing there were painted, with white paint, two parallel bars, one foot wide, extending across the highway. The decedent passed these signs in approaching the crossing. Across the track and immediately to the east of the crossing, on the right-hand shoulder of the road, was the usual "cross-buck" railroad warning sign, while still further east but on the left of the road could be seen the backs of two warning signs.

West of the crossing, along the south side of the highway, and in the area between the highway and the railroad, but off the railroad right of way, there is a dense and almost continuous growth of low trees, foliage, and undergrowth, also a sizable building, all of which combine to obstruct an east bound traveler's view of a train approaching from the south, and the engine crew's view of a car approaching from the west, until they are quite near the crossing. To a traveler approaching from the west, the crossing is practically a "blind" one until the traveler is within approximately 109 feet of the crossing, when the view down the track to the south opens up rapidly. Until then, however, a train approaching from the south is concealed by the foliage from the view of such a traveler.

The collision occurred on Saturday, May 13, 1950, about 4:23 o'clock in the afternoon, at which time traffic is heavy in this vicinity. The weather was clear and sunny. Decedent approached the crossing at a speed of 30 to 35 miles per hour. The train, powered by a diesel locomotive, approached at 45 to 50 miles per hour, coasting with power off, giving the usual crossing signals with whistle and bell. The brakes were applied about 20 feet south of the crossing, but the train did not appreciably slow down before the collision. It stopped with its rear end 700 to 1000 feet north of the crossing.

When decedent was approximately 83 feet west of the crossing, she suddenly and forcibly applied her brakes. Her car skidded to and stopped upon the crossing, leaving clearly visible skid-marks along the pavement for that distance. The passenger on the front seat got out safely, but the train struck the car as decedent was endeavoring to get out, inflicting fatal injuries. In an action under Fla.Stat.1951, §§ 768.01 and 768.02, F.S.A., the jury awarded her surviving husband $18,000 damages.

On appeal, the railroad company contends (1) that it was guilty of no negligence, and (2) that the sole proximate cause of the collision was decedent's failure to stop and look before reaching the crossing, as required by Fla.Stat.1951, § 320.45, F.S.A.

The duties and obligations of a railroad company and of a traveler on the highway at a public crossing are mutual and reciprocal. The trains have the right of way, and it is the duty of a highway traveler to give them precedence, but it is also the duty of the railroad company to exercise reasonable care for the safety of travelers on the highway, to give warnings of a train's approach which will be reasonably effective in the circumstances, and to have its train under control appropriate to the circumstances. It is of course the duty of a traveler on the highway to exercise reasonable care for his own safety. The degree of diligence and caution to be exercised by each is such as a prudent man would exercise in the circumstances involved. Roberts v. Powell, 137 Fla. 159, 187 So. 766; Texas & P. Ry. Co. v. Cody, 166 U.S. 606, 17 S.Ct. 703, 41 L.Ed. 1132. A railroad company can not regulate or remove obstructions which are off its right of way. But it can, and should, regulate the speed of its trains, and the signals of their approach at crossings, so as to give reasonably adequate warning in the circumstances to a traveler who is exercising reasonable care for his own safety. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Co. v. Weir, 63 Fla. 69, 58 So. 641, 41 L.R.A.,N.S., 307.

We do not say that this decedent was free from negligence. On the contrary, there is ample evidence to sustain a finding of negligence on her part. But...

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14 cases
  • Matta v. Welcher, 8224
    • United States
    • Missouri Court of Appeals
    • February 10, 1965
    ...of excessive speed, particularly over a dangerous or poorly maintained route, may indicate negligence, e. g., Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Pidd, 5 Cir., 197 F.2d 153, 156, and South Texas Coaches v. Eastland, Tex.Civ.App., 101 S.W.2d 878, 883, but those cases involve considerations very di......
  • Levine v. Mills
    • United States
    • D.C. Court of Appeals
    • May 27, 1955
    ...think the verdict is too high. But they also feel very clear that there is nothing the Court can do about it." In Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Pidd, 5 Cir., 197 F.2d 153, 156, certiorari denied 344 U.S. 874, 73 S.Ct. 166, 97 L.Ed. 677, it was said: "A verdict is unreviewable by an appellat......
  • Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company v. Kammerer
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit
    • November 30, 1956
    ...Co. v. Montgomery, 5 Cir., 46 F.2d 990, 991; Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Burkett, 5 Cir., 192 F.2d 941, 944; Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Pidd, 5 Cir., 197 F.2d 153, 156, certiorari denied, 344 U.S. 874, 73 S.Ct. 166, 97 L.Ed. 677; Fort Worth & Denver Ry. Co. v. Harris, 5 Cir., 230 F.2d ......
  • McAllister v. Tucker
    • United States
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • March 16, 1956
    ...parties guilty of negligence and apportioned the damages. In Loftin v. Deal, 154 Fla. 489, 18 So.2d 163, and in Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Pidd, 5 Cir., 1952, 197 F.2d 153, this procedure was approved apparently on the theory that the verdict was much smaller than the amount claimed and ......
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