MOTOR COLLISION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume LVII, Issue 31, 28 November 1925, Page 2

MOTOR COLLISION.

FOWLER NOT 'AT FAULT

Arising out of a collision between a motor car driven by Augustine Boyne (who was lined £1 10s and 14s costs) and a "service" 'bus driven by James Fowler, Hawera, the police proceeded against Fowler"' on a charge of negligent driving, alleging that Fowler should have stopped his car. Fowler's evidence was to the effect that he took the course he did in order to avoid an accident, and it was the behaviour of the other motorist that resulted in the" accident. The Magistrate (Mr J. S. Barton) said'that if Fowler had made up his mind at once to stop there would have been no accident and he would have shown good judgment, but that was not the question at issue. It was for the court to decide whether or "not Fowler was negligent. He could say, however, that negligence was not the only alternative to that care which would have prevented an accident, and it seemed to him that there were three wrong actions on the part of the driver of the other car. Firstly, the other driver had been quite wrong in pulling up on the right-hand side of the road. Then lie had started off heading for the station, and Fowler reasonably assumed that that was the direction he was taking. ' Suddenly, however, the other driver swerved to his left in front of Fowler's car, making a left-hand turn, and not giving any signal. Then he did a third wrong thing by pulling up his car in the middle of the road. It was these manoeuvres that had puzzled Fowler, and to say that Fowler should have nulled up in the first instance would be setting up a standard of.perfection and one which the law did not demand. The Magistrate said he could not, hold that Fowler had been negligent, and the information would be dismissed.