A MOTOR ACCIDENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22708, 22 October 1935, Page 5

A MOTOR ACCIDENT

SERVICE BUS AND LORRY COLLIDE SUBSTANTIAL CLAIM FOR DAMAGES In the Magistrate’s Court yesterday, before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., Wanaka Motors, Ltd., proceeded against the Silverstream Dairy Company (Mosgiel) on a claim for £494 9s Id as damages arising out of a collision which occurred on the Main South road near Henley on Christmas Eve last, between a service bus belonging to the plaintiff company, and a motor lorry owned by the defendants. Mr J. P. Ward, and with him, Mr D. A. Solomon, appeared for the plaintiff company, and Mr E. J. Anderson for the defendants. The statement of claim set out that on December 24, 1934, a service bus belonging to the plaintiff company, and driven by Colin Howison, collided on the Main South road with a motor truck owned by the defendant company. As a result of the collision, the service bus was extensively damaged, and the plaintiff company, besides being deprived of its use for four months, had to pay £2BB Is 7d for repairs. In addition, the company’s service between Dunedin and Pembroke was disorganised. The plaintiff company therefore claimed £2OO 7s 6d as general damages and £2BB Is 7d as special damages. It was alleged that the accident was due to the negligence of the driver of the lorry. Colin William Howison, the driver of the service bus, stated in evidence that at the first corner past the Henley Hotel, he saw the bonnet of the Silverstream Company’s lorry coming around the bend. Witness was travelling on his correct side, but the lorry was straddling the centre line. He drew well over to allow the lorry to pass, but it came straight on, and collided with the side of the bus. Witness’s right arm, at the time of the collision, was resting on the sill of the window, and as a result of the crash it was broken, so that witness had considerable difficulty in keepipg his vehicle straight. Immediately after the impact, the bus shot around the rear of the lorry and running across the road towards the river, capsized. To Mr Anderson: He A'as travelling at between 30 and 35 miles per hour immediately before the accident, and at that speed he thought his brakes would pull him up within 50 or 60 feet, and would not necessarily said the wheels. At the time of impace his speed would be about 25 miles an hour, and in the. face of the emergency the best he could do was to reduce his speed to this figure. He could not understand why, after the collision, the bus had travelled 101 feet, because the brakes had been applied hard. Nor could he undersiand why the bus had capsized. Horatio Murdoch Mackay, managing director of the plaintiff company, tendered evidence regarding marks found on the road after the accident. He also gave details of a reconstruction of the accident which was carried out at his company's premises, and which showed that the right-hand corner of the body of the lorry fitted an indentation on the right front-mudguard of the bus. It had taken two and a-half months to rebuild the body of the bus, at an approximate cost of £350.

To Mr Anderson: The company's drivers had instructions always to drive within the speed limit. It had not been proposed to get a new body for the bus within about two months, as the body had a further life of four years. At 35 miles an hour witness considered that the bus should be able to pull up in about 32 feet.

Thomas Edward Rolf, who was a passenger in the front seat of the bus, gave a version of the accident which corroborated that .of the witness Howison, and said that in his opinion Howison had very little opportunity of stopping before the collision took place. Robert Walker, another passenger, said that just before the collision the lorry was half on its wrong side of the road. The bus was on its correct side, and at no stage of the journey had its speed been excessive. Hugh Butel, the plaintiff company's head mechanic, said that when he visited the scene of the accident shortly after the collision occurred it was at first found impossible to move the damaged bus, as the right front mudguard was jammed hard down on the tyre, in his opinion, as the result of contact with the body of the lorry. This would lock the wheel and have a consequent effect on the steering.

Evidence as to the damage to the bus was given by Harry G. Calvert, an insurance assessor, who said that from the marks on the road and the state of the bus he considered it could not have been doing less than 35 miles per hour at the time of the accident.

At this stage the herring was adjourned until Friday.