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In
these proceedings, the Plaintiff claims damages for injuries
which he received on the 14th April, 1977 through the
negligent driving of the Defendant. In support of the
claim only the Plaintiff gave evidence. For the Defendant,
the Defendant himself and two witnesses gave evidence.
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There
is no dispute between the parties that on the 14th April,
1977 about 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. in the morning while
the Plaintiff was riding his bicycle, proceeding from
the Belcan Bridge across the Freetown Road, to Princess
Margaret Drive, he came into a collision on the said Freetown
Road, with a motor lorry, then, being driven by the Defendant.
There is also common ground between the parties that the
collision took place on the right hand side of Freetown
Road in the direction in which the truck was travelling.
In addition, I also found as a fact that on a Road leading
from the Belcan Bridge and on which the Plaintiff was
travelling there was a stop sign placed immediately before
entry into Freetown Road. Police Constables Thompson and
Simpson both gave evidence as to this which was not challenged.
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Now,
the Plaintiff maintained that he stopped at the end of
the Road leading from the bridge, before crossing Freetown
Road. He said, "When I reached the Belcan Bridge
I had to stop over on the north side ---- I did stop because
of the traffic rule ---- No traffic was on Freetown Road.
As I looked left, there was no traffic. As I looked right,
there was no traffic. I stopped about 3 minutes. I had
come off the bicycle completely." He then describes
how the collision occurred. He said, - "I then proceeded
towards Princess Margaret Drive. I was taking my time
going across - I got to about 20 feet from Princess Margaret
Drive ---- I saw a truck coming from Belize side. It was
coming so fast I couldn't judge how far it was from me
when I first saw it. It was coming so fast I had to cut
away from that direction ---- I cut up Haulover Road to
see if I could save my life. When I cut away I got knocked
down by the truck. I was hit on my right side."
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On
the other hand, the Defendant averred that the Plaintiff
did not stop and gave an account of the collision as follows:
He said, " I was driving towards the airport when
I was approaching the Belcan and Princess Margaret Drive.
I saw a bicycle coming down from the Belcan Bridge. I
continued because I know I have the right of way, but
as I was approaching the junction I saw the bicycle never
stopped. I figured he was going to stop at the middle
of the Road where there is an intersection there. Then
I see he didn't stop. I gone for my brakes and swerve
to my right because I saw if I continued straight he was
going to go underneath my truck. ---- Then Mr. Meighan
swerve to the left, but he couldn't avoid and the front
of my truck struck him."
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The
important issue for determination was whether the Plaintiff
had stopped before entering Freetown Road. As may be expected
the evidence of the Plaintiff and the Defendant on this
were diametrically opposed.
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However,
Police Constable Simpson one of the witnesses presented
by the Defendant said - "I was on duty at the police
posts at the corner of Princess Margaret Drive and Northern
Highway. Between 8 - 9:00 a.m. I was standing outside
by the door of the said police post. A truck was coming
from the direction of Ellis Gas Station. About the same
time I noticed a bicycle rider coming from off Belcan
Bridge ---- the bicycle was heading towards Princess Margaret
Drive. The cyclist was trying to cross the stop sign which
is at the corner of Freetown Road and the run down. The
cyclist was travelling fast. The cyclist did not stop
at the stop sign. The cyclist went into Freetown Road.
The truck was coming and he run into the truck."
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I
accepted the evidence of Constable Simpson who appeared
to have no axe to grind, that the Plaintiff did not stop
at the end of the Road leading from the Belcan Bridge
before entering Freetown Road. Consequently, I held that
the Plaintiff was guilty of negligence in failing to obey
the stop sign which was placed on the Road on which he
was riding before entering Freetown Road.
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Now
the Defendant was driving on Freetown Road and so had
the right of way. The Plaintiff himself agreed to this.
He was driving at about 20 - 25 miles per hour. Constable
Simpson said the Defendant was driving about 10 miles
per hour. According to the Defendant, he was about 50
feet from the cyclist when he first saw him. When he saw
that the Plaintiff did not stop and was crossing Freetown
Road he applied his brakes and swerved to his right. The
Plaintiff swerved to his left ---- and the front of his
truck struck the Plaintiff.
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The
Defendant admitted that his truck skidded. According to
the evidence of Police Constable Simpson, the skid mark
was about 10 feet. This appeared consistent with the evidence
that the truck was travelling at about 10 - 20 miles per
hour. The evidence as to the skid by the truck as a whole
pointed to the truck being brought suddenly to stop from
a short distance. This again was consistent with the Defendant's
evidence that, "as I was approaching the junction
I saw the bicycle never stopped. I figure that he was
going to stop at middle of Road by the intersection there.
When I see he didn't stop, I gone for my brakes and swerve
to my right."
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However,
it seems to me that the Defendant did not take the care
required of him in the particular circumstances. In my
view, he should have taken steps to avoid collision with
the cyclist from the moment he saw that the cyclist did
not stop at the beginning of the crossing. Having waited,
as he said, to see if the cyclist was going to stop in
the middle of the crossing, he put himself in the situation
where he then had to bring his vehicle suddenly to a stand-still.
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Accordingly,
I found that the collision between the Plaintiff while
riding his bicycle and the truck driven by the Defendant
was due to the negligence of both the Plaintiff and the
Defendant in the ratio 85% and 15% respectively.
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The
Plaintiff claimed as special damages:
(a)
loss of amount he would have worked for $275.00
(b)
loss of profit as a food vendor.
(c)
loss of bicycle pedal.
As
is required on items of special damages, the Plaintiff
did not prove what was his loss with respect to the bicycle
pedal, nor with regard to his profit as a food vendor.
Again, while I accepted that as a result of the accident
the Plaintiff could not perform his obligation under the
contract to paint Mr. Coye's house, I was not satisfied
that I could allow anything under this head.
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On
the question of general damages, taking into account (a)
the nature and extent of the injuries sustained, and (b)
pain and suffering, I award the sum $1,600.00. This amount
is to be reduced by 85% being the extent of the Plaintiff's
negligence contributing to the accident.
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Judgment
then for the Plaintiff in the sum of $240.00
