VALLÉE, J.
Appeal by defendants from a judgment entered on a verdict for plaintiff in an action for damages for personal injuries sustained when his automobile collided with a triangular steel girder being transported on a tractor owned by defendant Almas House Moving Company and operated by defendant Stout and guided by defendant Tangen in a pilot truck. The only question is whether the trial court erred in giving and in refusing to give certain instructions to the jury; and, if so, whether the error was prejudicial.
In determining whether the instructions given are correct, we must assume the jury might have believed the evidence ón which the defense—the losing party—was predicated, and if correct instructions had been given the jury might have rendered a verdict in favor of defendants.
(Clement
v.
State Reclamation Board,
35 Cal.2d 628, 643 [220 P.2d 897].)
Defendant Almas House Moving Company, to be referred to as defendant, is a corporation engaged in the business of moving houses and oversized loads
About 5:45 a. m. on September 24, 1953 defendant was transporting two, large, triangular, prefabricated steel girders on a flat-bed tractor and semitrailer. The tractor was about 8 feet wide. Two I-beams about 23 feet in length were crosswise on the bed of the trailer. The two girders, one on top of the other, were on top of the I-beams. The widest portion of the girders was near the cab of the tractor. Prom point to point of the girders the load was 24 feet and 6 inches in width, making an 8-foot overhang on both sides of the trailer. The equipment weighed in excess of 25,000 pounds.
The tractor, in addition to its usual headlights, had a fixed electric red light on top of the hood. There were a total of 14 lighted red coal oil lanterns hung from various parts of the load. About 120 feet in front of the tractor a pilot or guide truck was operated by defendant Tangen. He had in his left hand a lighted red coal oil lantern with a wire handle which, he testified, he waved. The lights on the tractor and truck were burning.
Defendant was transporting the girders from Los Angeles to Lakewood and had obtained from the city of Lynwood a permit describing the route, subject to “O.K.” by the police department, which showed on its face “Okay,” and a permit from the city of South Gate street department, to move the load. Neither permit authorized defendant to move the load in the center of the highway.
Defendant Stout drove the tractor easterly on Imperial Highway. When it reached the intersection of Imperial and Alameda the equipment was stopped and Tangen called the police departments of South Gate and Lynwood. Stout and Tangen had the permits with them. Tangen testified that an officer informed him South Gate did not require a police escort as long as the equipment was properly lighted and as long as he had a permit. A police car from Lynwood was dispatched to the intersection. The officers examined the permits and directed Stout and Tangen to drive down the middle of the highway “so that the truck and the load would be contained within one lane of each direction, straddling that double line.” The beams protruded almost out to the single white lines on either side of the double white line.
One of the officers testified the equipment was being driven
in this fashion so that traffic would be “able to move on either side of this equipment”; he did not see any red lanterns on the guide truck, nor did he see defendant Tangen wave a red lantern. The officers stayed in front of the equipment until they reached a bridge on Imperial close to the city limits of South Gate, at which point they turned off.
When the tractor reached the city limits of South Gate it was still dark. Imperial at that point was about 74 feet wide. Stout was driving to the right of the double white line in the center of the highway. About 8 feet of the load extended into the lane immediately north of the double line. Plaintiff was traveling west on Imperial in the lane near the double white line. About 70 feet in front of him, and going in the same direction, was a car driven by one Preston. Preston saw a red light, swerved to the right and avoided contact with the equipment. Almost immediately thereafter plaintiff collided with the left-hand side of the load, sustaining serious injuries. The accident occurred near the boundary line between Lynwood and South Gate. The evidence is in conflict as to whether the point of impact was in Lynwood or in South Gate. There was evidence from which the jury could have found either way. Plaintiff testified he did not see any red light other than the rear end light of Preston’s car in front of him.
The court read sections 515; 525; 525.1; 525.3; 529; 694 (a), (b), (c), and (f); and 710 of the Vehicle Code to the jury.
The jury was then told that conduct in violation of the
sections constitutes negligence
per se,
subject to being over
come by a showing that the conduct was excusable or justifi
able.
This was followed by another instruction to the effect that a violation of law is of no consequence unless it was a proximate cause of an injury suffered by the plaintiff. Judgment was for plaintiff. Defendants appeal.
First, defendants assert the court erred in reading sections 525, 525.1, and 525.3
to the jury and stating that violation of these sections constituted negligence per se.
The court first read section 515, which provides that vehicles of specified weight and tire equipment shall not be operated in excess of designated speeds. It then read section 525.3, which in essence provides that vehicles included in section 515 shall be driven in the right-hand lane or as close as practicable to the right edge or curb.
It then read section 525.1, which provides that vehicles proceeding at less than normal speed of traffic shall be driven in the right-hand lane. This was followed by section 525 which states that a vehicle shall be driven on the right half of the roadway except under certain conditions.
Section 525 is not applicable where vehicles are passing each other going in opposite directions.
(Mathers
v.
County of Riverside,
22 Cal.2d 781, 784 [141 P.2d 419];
Morrison
v.
Jose,
57 Cal.App.2d 795, 801 [135 P.2d 586].) Sections 525, 525.1, and 525.3 contain the identical language: “when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction.” Each of these sections applies only to vehicles traveling in the same direction and not to those proceeding in opposite directions. (See
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
VALLÉE, J.
Appeal by defendants from a judgment entered on a verdict for plaintiff in an action for damages for personal injuries sustained when his automobile collided with a triangular steel girder being transported on a tractor owned by defendant Almas House Moving Company and operated by defendant Stout and guided by defendant Tangen in a pilot truck. The only question is whether the trial court erred in giving and in refusing to give certain instructions to the jury; and, if so, whether the error was prejudicial.
In determining whether the instructions given are correct, we must assume the jury might have believed the evidence ón which the defense—the losing party—was predicated, and if correct instructions had been given the jury might have rendered a verdict in favor of defendants.
(Clement
v.
State Reclamation Board,
35 Cal.2d 628, 643 [220 P.2d 897].)
Defendant Almas House Moving Company, to be referred to as defendant, is a corporation engaged in the business of moving houses and oversized loads
About 5:45 a. m. on September 24, 1953 defendant was transporting two, large, triangular, prefabricated steel girders on a flat-bed tractor and semitrailer. The tractor was about 8 feet wide. Two I-beams about 23 feet in length were crosswise on the bed of the trailer. The two girders, one on top of the other, were on top of the I-beams. The widest portion of the girders was near the cab of the tractor. Prom point to point of the girders the load was 24 feet and 6 inches in width, making an 8-foot overhang on both sides of the trailer. The equipment weighed in excess of 25,000 pounds.
The tractor, in addition to its usual headlights, had a fixed electric red light on top of the hood. There were a total of 14 lighted red coal oil lanterns hung from various parts of the load. About 120 feet in front of the tractor a pilot or guide truck was operated by defendant Tangen. He had in his left hand a lighted red coal oil lantern with a wire handle which, he testified, he waved. The lights on the tractor and truck were burning.
Defendant was transporting the girders from Los Angeles to Lakewood and had obtained from the city of Lynwood a permit describing the route, subject to “O.K.” by the police department, which showed on its face “Okay,” and a permit from the city of South Gate street department, to move the load. Neither permit authorized defendant to move the load in the center of the highway.
Defendant Stout drove the tractor easterly on Imperial Highway. When it reached the intersection of Imperial and Alameda the equipment was stopped and Tangen called the police departments of South Gate and Lynwood. Stout and Tangen had the permits with them. Tangen testified that an officer informed him South Gate did not require a police escort as long as the equipment was properly lighted and as long as he had a permit. A police car from Lynwood was dispatched to the intersection. The officers examined the permits and directed Stout and Tangen to drive down the middle of the highway “so that the truck and the load would be contained within one lane of each direction, straddling that double line.” The beams protruded almost out to the single white lines on either side of the double white line.
One of the officers testified the equipment was being driven
in this fashion so that traffic would be “able to move on either side of this equipment”; he did not see any red lanterns on the guide truck, nor did he see defendant Tangen wave a red lantern. The officers stayed in front of the equipment until they reached a bridge on Imperial close to the city limits of South Gate, at which point they turned off.
When the tractor reached the city limits of South Gate it was still dark. Imperial at that point was about 74 feet wide. Stout was driving to the right of the double white line in the center of the highway. About 8 feet of the load extended into the lane immediately north of the double line. Plaintiff was traveling west on Imperial in the lane near the double white line. About 70 feet in front of him, and going in the same direction, was a car driven by one Preston. Preston saw a red light, swerved to the right and avoided contact with the equipment. Almost immediately thereafter plaintiff collided with the left-hand side of the load, sustaining serious injuries. The accident occurred near the boundary line between Lynwood and South Gate. The evidence is in conflict as to whether the point of impact was in Lynwood or in South Gate. There was evidence from which the jury could have found either way. Plaintiff testified he did not see any red light other than the rear end light of Preston’s car in front of him.
The court read sections 515; 525; 525.1; 525.3; 529; 694 (a), (b), (c), and (f); and 710 of the Vehicle Code to the jury.
The jury was then told that conduct in violation of the
sections constitutes negligence
per se,
subject to being over
come by a showing that the conduct was excusable or justifi
able.
This was followed by another instruction to the effect that a violation of law is of no consequence unless it was a proximate cause of an injury suffered by the plaintiff. Judgment was for plaintiff. Defendants appeal.
First, defendants assert the court erred in reading sections 525, 525.1, and 525.3
to the jury and stating that violation of these sections constituted negligence per se.
The court first read section 515, which provides that vehicles of specified weight and tire equipment shall not be operated in excess of designated speeds. It then read section 525.3, which in essence provides that vehicles included in section 515 shall be driven in the right-hand lane or as close as practicable to the right edge or curb.
It then read section 525.1, which provides that vehicles proceeding at less than normal speed of traffic shall be driven in the right-hand lane. This was followed by section 525 which states that a vehicle shall be driven on the right half of the roadway except under certain conditions.
Section 525 is not applicable where vehicles are passing each other going in opposite directions.
(Mathers
v.
County of Riverside,
22 Cal.2d 781, 784 [141 P.2d 419];
Morrison
v.
Jose,
57 Cal.App.2d 795, 801 [135 P.2d 586].) Sections 525, 525.1, and 525.3 contain the identical language: “when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction.” Each of these sections applies only to vehicles traveling in the same direction and not to those proceeding in opposite directions. (See
Lewis
v.
Western Truck Line,
44 Cal.App.2d 455, 468 [112 P.2d 747].) It was error to give the instructions based on sections 525, 525.1, and 525.3 as those sections are not applicable to the facts at bar. The vehicles involved were traveling in opposite directions. Neither party requested that section 527, which applies to vehicles proceeding in opposite directions, be read to the jury, nor was it instructed thereon.
(Bennett
v.
Chandler,
52 CaL.App.2d 255, 263 [126 P.2d 173]; see
People
v.
Kiss,
125 Cal.App.2d 138, 143 [269 P.2d
924]; Morrison
v.
Jose,
57 Cal.App.2d 795, 801 [135 P.2d 586].)
Defendants’ second assignment of error is that the court erred in reading section 529, which states the conditions when a driver may overtake and pass to the right of another vehicle. Plaintiff argues the instruction was given because paragraph (c) thereof provides that the provisions of the section shall not relieve the driver of a slow-moving vehicle from the duty to drive as closely as practicable to the right-hand edge of the roadway. This section applies to vehicles traveling in the same direction and not in opposite directions.
The evidence is uncontradieted that as defendants were driving easterly on Imperial they were not attempting to pass any other vehicle driven in the same direction. The instruction was not applicable to the facts and should not have been given.
Defendants next contend the court erred in reading subsection (a) of section 694. It is argued that although subsection (f) was read at their request there was no reason to read subsection (a) in view of the evidence that the oversized load was being carried pursuant to permits from the authorities.
The object of section 694, subdivision (a), is to restrict the width of loads to reasonable limits so that such loads shall not protrude over the center line of a highway or over other traffic lines in such a way as to interfere with other vehicles which are in their proper places and are properly using the
other parts of the highway.
(Albania
v.
Kovacevich,
44 Cal.App.2d 925, 928 [113 P.2d 251].)
An act or failure to act in violation of a statute is negligence as a matter of law. Circumstances of emergency or unusual conditions may be shown to excuse or justify the violation. Unless and until excuse or justification appears, the general rule applies and the violation must be treated as negligence
per se.
Each violation must be considered in connection with the surrounding circumstances. Ordinarily the excuse or justification presents a question of fact for the jury. Here, the instruction relative to negligence
per se
stated that the violation of section 694(a) may be explained by circumstances surrounding the event. The court read subdivision (f), which qualified the effect of subdivision (a). There was no error in reading subdivision (a) of section 694.
The fourth claimed error was the reading of section 515 which specifies speed limits based on weight and tire equipment. Plaintiff concedes the only reason this instruction was given was to make section 525.3 applicable, in that the latter section provides that when a vehicle included in section 515 is being driven on the highway it shall be driven in the right-hand lane or as close as practicable to the right edge or curb, with certain exceptions. As noted, section 525.3 applies to vehicles traveling in the same direction and not in opposite directions. There is no evidence to warrant an inference that the tractor was driven in excess of any of the speed restrictions set forth in section 515. Section 515 should not have been read.
Finally, defendants contend the court erred in refusing to instruct the jury that if a vehicle is driven on the right half of the roadway no violation of section 525 results from the mere fact that the load extends across the center line.
Since section 525 applies only to vehicles traveling in the same direction, the court was correct in refusing to give the instruction. Furthermore, the instruction was inapplicable to the facts. The evidence was uncontradicted that the vehicle was driven in the center of the highway, not on the right half.
There remains the question whether reading sections 515, 525, 525.1, 525.3, and 529 to the jury, together with the instruction that conduct in violation of any one of the sections constituted negligence per se subject to being overcome by a showing that the conduct was excusable or justifiable, was prejudicial.
A judgment may not be set aside on the ground of misdirection of the jury unless, after an examination of the evidence, the court shall be of the opinion that the error complained of has resulted in a miscarriage of justice. (Const., art. VI, § 4½.)
The facts were fully developed. It is not contended the evidence does not support the verdict. There is substantial evidence that defendants were negligent. The court instructed the jury with respect to negligence, proximate cause, and contributory negligence. Obviously the jury found defendants were negligent and plaintiff was not contributorily negligent. When the instructions are read as a whole, it is manifest the jury was fully, fairly, and correctly charged on all basic issues. Under such circumstances any minor error that may have occurred in the instructions cannot and should not be held to have been prejudicial.
(Florine
v.
Market St. Ry. Co.,
64 Cal.App.2d 581, 586 [149 P.2d 41].) Regardless of the requirements of sections 525, 525.1 and 525.3 defendants were clearly negligent in moving the equipment with 8 feet of overhang north of the center line and we think the jury undoubtedly would have found negligence for that reason. Although some of the instructions complained of were erroneous under the circumstances of this case, it cannot be said the errors resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
(Lewis
v.
Western Truck Line,
44 Cal.App.2d 455, 468 [112 P.2d 747] ;
Bennett
v.
Chandler,
52 Cal.App.2d 255, 263 [126 P.2d
173]; Morrison
v.
Jose,
57 Cal.App.2d 795, 803 [135 P.2d 586].)
Affirmed.
Shinn, P. J., and Wood (Parker), J., concurred.
Appellants’ petition for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied February 19, 1957.