Trombley v. Stevens-duryea Co.
| Decision Date | 19 October 1910 |
| Parties | TROMBLEY v. STEVENS-DURYEA CO. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
Oct 19, 1910.
Richard J. Talbot and Fred P. Squier, for plaintiff.
C. T Callahan, for defendant.
The defendant makes no contention that the plaintiff was careless, and the only questions for decision are whether there was evidence for the jury of the negligence of the driver and only occupant of the automobile, and if he could be found to have been negligent whether the defendant owned or controlled the car, and he was acting at the time as its servant. It is common knowledge that horses, however well trained, if unaccustomed to them, are made restive and frightened by approaching automobiles, which often are run at high speed, attended by explosive noises, with the emission of acrid and disagreeable odors. The person driving or in control of the automobile is presumed to know of these mechanical conditions under which it must be operated, and was required by St. 1903, c. 473, § 7, in force when the accident happened, to exercise every reasonable precaution when passing teams to avoid frightening the horse, and, when signs of fright are observable, the speed must be reduced, 'and in cases of extreme fright shall reduce the motive power to a full stop.' It is, moreover, immaterial whether the automobile is approaching the team from the rear, or coming from the opposite direction. Gifford v. Jennings, 190 Mass. 55, 76 N.E. 233. And it often must happen that the driver alone knows of the habits of his horse, or first notices signs of fright. To meet the exigencies of such a situation the statute confers upon him the right to signal the approaching automobile to stop. If it keeps on, 'unless such movement be necessary to avoid accident or injury, or until such animal appears to be under the control of its driver,' and a collision follows, or from fright due to its operation the horse becomes unmanageable, and acts viciously, damaging the team or causing personal injuries to those in the carriage, the due care of the parties usually presents a question of fact. Hennessey v. Taylor, 189 Mass. 583, 76 N.E. 224, 3 L. R. A. (N. S.) 345; Dudley v. Kingsbury, 199 Mass. 258, 85 N.E. 76.
It should be remembered, however, that the rule of the common law, whereby each traveler is bound to use ordinary care to prevent or avoid inflicting injury, has not been abrogated. The statute, while elaborately providing for what shall be done under certain contingencies, does not relieve those in charge or control of the automobile, or the driver of the carriage, from taking such further precautions as the dictates of ordinary prudence may demand. The jury, if they were satisfied that the plaintiff's signal to stop was seen by the person driving the automobile, and without slackening speed he unnecessarily kept on, passing within 2 feet of the horses, causing them to become unmanageable and to run away, when the width of the roadway was sufficiently ample to have enabled him to go by at a distance of 20 feet, which might have prevented the accident, would have been warranted in finding a violation of the statute from which his negligence could be inferred, and also that the automobile was carelessly operated. Finnegan v. Winslow Skate Mfg. Co., 189 Mass. 580, 582, 76 N.E. 192; Field v. Gowdy, 199 Mass. 568, 573, 85 N.E. 884, 19 L. R. A. (N. S.) 236.
There also was evidence connecting the defendant with the ownership of the car. It could not be operated lawfully upon the highway unless duly registered 'by the owner or person in control,' and, until rebutted, the plaintiff could rely on the presumption, that the requirements of the statute had been followed. St. 1903, c. 473, §§ 1, 3; St. 1905, c. 311, § 2; St. 1906, c. 412, § 8; St. 1907, c. 580, § 1; St. 1908, c 648, § 3; St. 1909, c. 534, § 2; Doherty v. Ayer, 197 Mass. 241, 247, 83 N.E. 677, 14 L. R. A. (N. S.) 816, 125 Am. St. Rep. 355; Dudley v. Northampton St. Ry., 202...
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