WITNESS IN A QUANDARY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3382, 11 July 1927, Page 7

WITNESS IN A QUANDARY.

A witness in a motor collision case heard at the Blenheim Magistrate’s Court recently found himself in a quandary. His evidence, on behalf of the defendant, was that he was working at the time of the accident, in such a position that he had a complete, view of the main road. Pie said he saw the plaintiff’s car approaching, and he timed its speed between two telegi’aph poles, afterwards pacii g off the distance. Allowing for the angle at which he was standing, the distance between the two posts was 83yds., and the plaintiffs speed worked out at 31 miles per hour. “Are you in the habit of putting your watcii on motor cars to test their speed?” inquired Mr T. C. Smith, who appeared for the plaintiff. “Oh, no! But working out distances and angles is in my line,” declared the witness.

Mr Smith next asked where were the actual figures from which the witness had worked out the plaintiff’s speed, and the witness readied that they were in his ledger. Mr Smith next asked for a glimpse of the watch with which the distance had been timed, and was frankly suspicious when an ordinary timekeeper and not a stopwatch w'as produced. Finally, Mr Smith put a simple sum to the witness. He was asked to assume that a car took five seconds to travel 75yds., and to work out at what rate per hour it was travelling. The witness retired with pencil and paper to a corner of the Court and laboured away for a quarter of an hour. “Well,” inquired the Magistrate, “what rate of speed do you make it?” “I make it 395 seconds,” replied the witness confidently. The magistrate explained that witness was asked to work out at how many miles per hour a car travelled if it covered 75yds. in five seconds. “Can you work it out?” he asked the witness. “Easy,” said the witness, still with superb confidence. “If I multiply 1760 by five that will give it to me.” “Puts Scgrave in the shade,” murmured counsel, while the witness again got busy with pencil and paper. Finally he triumphantly presented the magistrate with the answer: -o min utes!”

The Court controlled its laughter with difficulty as the witness left the box and the Court.