A BROKEN WINDOW

Waipa Post, Volume 45, Issue 3202, 12 July 1932, Page 5

A BROKEN WINDOW

WHAT AN UNCONTROLLED CAR DID. DRIVER HELD TO BE NEGLIGENT. Mr Wyvern Wilson, S.M., was occupied for some hours on Monday, at the local sitting of the Magistrate's Court in hearing a claim by Te Awamutu Buildings, Ltd., against Samuel J. Oliver, farmer, of Orakau, arising out of damage sustained to a plate glass window of their premises when a car driven by defendant's daughter crashed into it. This was, said the company's counsel, for £24 8s being the cost of reinstating a plate-glass window in the plaintiff's shop, Alexandra Street On January 25th, Miss Oliver, daughter of the defendant. ■°l\u 1S - ( l ar llp Sloane Street, and with the intention of parking it near the corner (in front of Finch's grocery), but as the car reached the junction in front of the post office the driver swerved to the right, without a signal, and crossed the footpath snon< ng T g £ mJ V Pillar between two shops. Then the car bounced back and was got under control. Counsel added that luckily only one person (a shopper standing near a shop entrance) received injury, even two persons dressing the window escaped InS rf.n ?i, P f°??. Sed t 0 call evidence to show that Miss Oliver drove at too great a speed, and that she did not have the car under proper control, thus constituting negligence His client was therefore entitled to damages for the result of the crash He would maintain that Miss Oliver was the agent of her father, owner poJI T' - a " d in . su PP°rt he quoted ea. her decisions m parallel cases Counsel added that it may be alleged that the braking of the car was de-

John Forsyth, police constable, said He interviewed Miss Oliver on' February 25th, and she said she had come to Te Awamutu with her mother to do some shopping. She said she had genera permission from her a t% tO , dn J e the car a t any time J T ° o ™\ taxi proprietor, said on the date m question he was sitting in his car on the with H. Meredith (another taxi man) and saw Oliver's car come past the corner and hit the window. When he saw it pass the post office it was w F %* a t Ut 30 miles P ei> -hour, and after taking the curve it was swerved sharply to the right and crashed into the window. He recognised the driver as Miss Oliver, of Orakau He thought the speed was far too fast if the driver intended to Pu" in to the kerb. He heard screams and ran across to the scene. Ihe car had been going too fast to make a sufficient turn for parking at the kerb. The window that was area 6 " ™* S °PP osite a no-parking area. The pillar was the wall sep*h™ "* w£ bo . ot shop and the fruit .nop. When he reached the scene a ShZ S i lopper was ] y in S Prone in a shop doorway and Oliver's car was £SL C w ing °x reSt a^ains t kerb aitei being got under control. Later fm. S fiT Oll on iarks , aIon £ Sloane Street for about 80 yards. Oliver's car was fitted with hydraulic brakes. There was a blob of oil on the roadway about tZ car i engths f ™ ™ th e kerb, as mi? * i£ he PIPG ? ad Mown 3£pf }?Z e as I l ttle trafflc on tlle street at the time, but several people on the footpath. l y n£° d^ en< ? a P t,s counsel: He did not notice the injuries to the car. a*' he promptly drove away to get the husband of the injured lady. When he nrst saw the car approaching it was opposite a big telephone post, and t thus travelled 1 or 11 chains before it was turned to park at the kerb, rhe car crossed the footpath not quite square on. Later the car was against the kerb, with one front wheel on the path. He did not see the driver signal to turn coming out of Sloane otreet.

Vera Holt, shop assistant at Walker s, said she was assisting Mr Douglass to dress the window with shoes, bhe was right in the doorway, looking straight across the street. She saw the car coming up Sloane Street at what she thought an excessive speed, and when she realised it was swerving toward her she called to Mr Douglas to look, and then she stepped back to let him get out of the window and out of danger. The car bounced back after its contact with the pillar, and then came to rest against the kerb. There was one ear already at the kerb, and there was ample room for Miss Oliver to park between it and the parking sign. The contents of the window were scattered, and the shattered glass 'was thrown right into the shop. For the defence, counsel denied that the speed was excessive and the driving was not reckless. Furthermore, Miss Oliver was not acting as agent for her father, the owner of the car. Approaching the rise in Sloane Street she slowed down to pass a stationary vehicle in front of the hotel, and watched for any possible vehicle coming out of the post office yard; then she signalled her intention to park at the kerb as near Finch's shop as convenient. The brakes proving faulty was the real cause of the accident.

Jessie G. Oliver said she is a daughter of Samuel J. Oliver, farmer at Orakau. She drove into Te Awamutu with her mother to do some shopping. She drove carefully all the way, and the brakes' were in perfect working order. She came up the rise in- front of Rickit's at between 15 and 20 miles per hour. There was no other traffic, but a car was backing away from the hotel, and it swung into the street to proceed either into Alexandra Street or Arawata Street. She saw a car in the gateway of the post office;" but it moved inward. She-slowed down still more as she swung into Alexandra Street' and signalled to park as near Finch's as.jpossible. She passed the P.D.> at 10 to 12 miles per hour and was slowjer when she turned to park. When it became evident that tehbrakes were not holding; she reached for the ignition and then for the hand brake. She had one foot on the clutch and the other on the brake. Continuing after the luncheony adjournment, Miss Oliver saicfithe centre of the car, when it struck the pillar,'

was apposite the edge of the pillar, and it Febounded and came to rest practically in its correct position for parking at the kerb. She was not dislodged from her seat. Had the brake acted as usual, the car would have pulled up in its correct position. She and her mother were in town doing personal shopping. She had been driving for five years, and was the only member of the family qualified to drive. She frequently drove to town. The De Soto car was fitted with powerful brakes. It was not her custom to drive fast, relying on the brakes. Opposite Finch's was where she usually parked the car. The car in front of the Te Awamutu Hotel was backing into the traffic track in front of her, and it went away before she reached the place where it backed out. From the hotel to Walker's the road appeared to be level. She came up the rise at a speed between 15 and 20 miles an hour, and she slowed down slightly opposite the post office gate. She usually slowed down at that place. Before she reached the gutter the pace was down to under ten miles per hour, by putting her foot over the brake. One hand was on the wheel and she signalled with the other. She noticed no traffic following her up Sloane Street. Was positive she put out her hand, and had looked down Arawata Street. There was no traffic approaching her from either Arawata or Alexandra Streets. She was quite close to the kerb when she realised that the brake was not acting. The hand-brake was efficient. She had reached oat for it when she heard her mother scream —the car was on the footpath then. She frequently used the handbrake to hold the car at a given spot. That was a regular practice of hers. The first thing she did when the brake failed to act was to shut off the ignition, and then reached for the handbrake. After the impact the car rolled back off the pavement. She walked down to a garage to get a mechanic to bring the car away. Possibly the bumper broke the window. The front bumper was torn off. There was, she' believed, a gush of oil nine yards from the footpath, but she did not know it at the time. She noticed the speedometer opposite the timberyard, when the indicator was dropping from 25 to 20 miles. The last time she used the footbrake before the accident was when rounding the corner at the bowser station —it was a sharp turn with the metal studs in the roadway.

When a rough sketch of the locality was produced, witness differed with its accuracy, saying_her course was a wider sweep after rounding the post office. She slowed down fairly suddenly before turning to the kerb, when she took her foot off the accelerator.

Elizabeth G. Oliver, mother of the previous witness corroborated generally, adding that her daughter was driving at her usual moderate speed. It was customary to slow corners. Witness had. accompanied her daughter on many occasions, parking at the one place. There was plenty of room. Was positive her daughter signalled her intention to turn to the right to park. Everything was done as usual, only on this occasion the car did not stop. It was incorrect to say the car bounced back from the impact with the pillar;' it just rolled back. They came to town to do some shopping. She had every confidence in Tier daughter's ability as a driver. The breaks had always been reliable. Could not recall e-" Q *- telling her daughter sh". was driving too fast, but had asked her not to go too fast. After th accident her daughter had some s bruises on her legs. Her daughter had frequently driven the car since. Clive J. Langmuir, motor mechanic, said he knew the car and remembered being called to drive it away from the scene of the accident. It was driven under its own power to his garage. The bumper was off, the radiator was pushed back, and the left-hand lamp broken. The foot brake was out of commission, the pipe being broken, which could have been caused by road vibration. From his inspection, he would say the speed was not great when the'car struck the pillar, otherwise the people would have &Sen dislodged from their seats and the windscreen shattered. The damage could have been caused by a car travelling at five to ten miles per hour. The radiator was pushed back about two inches, and was split in the centre by contact with the fan spindle. The left end of the bumper was bent, and torn off the studs. At five miles an hour, he would expect to stop a car in its own length. He traced oil leak for about 80 yards. This* would indicate that the footbrake was losing power, and when the gush of oil occurred the abrake would be inoperative. The broken pipe was not caused suddenly. The oil container holds about 13 pints, and all this was" not spilled' in the 80 yards. When he went to get Oliver's car it was in its correct parking angle. His Worship reviewed the evidence. and held tihat the drivter was the agent of defendant, and that she was negligent. Her contention as to speed was incredible, as any car "loafing up the rise" as she asserted, would have been easily stopped. Actually, he believed that she probably came round the bend of the post office at a fairly high rate of speed—too fast, considering that she was going to turn abruptly and then stop_at__the kerb. The brake pipe was leaking, but there was still sufficient oil In the brake mechanism to make it Partly effective, at least. If as she says, she reached.,for the hand-brake when she was 9-yards from tl\e kerb she could have«-applied it in time to avoid running would enter'judgment for the amount claimed, with costs totalling £6 12s 6d.