NEGLIGENT DRIVING

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 46, 31 August 1928, Page 6

NEGLIGENT DRIVING

' DEGREES OF INSOBRIETY (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) . ■ "' .HAMILTON, 30th August.. A case, arising out of a. fatal accident at Te Aroha was concluded in the Supreme Court to-day.. TJoHri\Walker,,driver of a lorry- whicli capsized on 14th July, causing the death of, a woman, Hiria Tiirawaho, was found guilty o£ negligent driving and not' guilty of drunkenness while in charge of a motor-lorry,; Walker will be sentenced to-morrow. .Mr. Justico Blair, in summing up, said there was a legal difference between bciiv in a state of intoxication and beiug drunk A man might be in a state of intoxication walking alobg a road yet not liable to be locked up for drunkenness; he might, however, legally be regarded aa in a state of intoxication when he happened to be in charge of a motor vehicle if he had imbibed sufficient liquor to render him incapable of properly performing the functions of amotor driver. There was evidence that prisoner had imbibed seven or eight small whiskies, and there was evidence that after the accident prisoner did little to assist in lifting the lorry off the unfortunate woman j who had a broken neck. On the other ! hand they had medical evidence that he i was able to successfully go through tests for sobriety two hours after tho accident. The_ vehicle, the evidence showed, was illequipped. In law there was no difference between a man driving a well-equipped vehicle badly and driving a badly equipped vehicle with care. A driver was negligent who knowingly took on the public road a vehicle in a defective state. Prisoner knew the brakes were ineffective, and that the wheels "shimmied."