Charge of Negligent Driving

Franklin Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 140, 30 November 1938, Page 5

Charge of Negligent Driving

TRAVELLER FINED FAILED TO NEGOTIATE BEND CAR PLUNGES INTO GULLY Charged with negligently driving a car on the Paerata road on September 10, Roy McDonald, a commercial 'traveller, appeared in the Pukekohe Police Court before Mr W. H. Freeman, S.M., on Monday. McDonald pleaded not guilty. Sergeant W. Grainger stated that McDonald failed to negotiate a corner, crashed through a fence, and came to rest in a gully below. The Police contended that his speed was excessive, in that he could not negotiate the corner. They also alleged negligence.

Defendant contended that his speed was not excessive. He was unfamiliar with the road, and when he approached the corner realised that he had not slowed down sufficiently. He braked hard, but only one wheel caught properly, making the car difficult to control. Constable A. P. Packer said that there was a skid mark 74 feet long on the road. The corner was such that a man not conversant with the road might not notice it until he was on top of it. The car had turned several somersaults after leaving the road, and was extensively damaged. The Magistrate-: Here is the case of a man who skids 74 feet, goes through a fence, and down into a gully, and lands against a tree. If you did not know the road, you should not have gone at such a speed that you could not take the corner when you came to it. If a man does not know a road, he should go carefully; otherwise, he is negligent. Defendant was convicted and fined

£2 10s, and ordered to pay 13s costs and 8s witness’s’ expenses.