Drake v. Farmers Mutual Automobile Insurance

22 Wis. 2d 56
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 20, 1963
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 22 Wis. 2d 56 (Drake v. Farmers Mutual Automobile Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Drake v. Farmers Mutual Automobile Insurance, 22 Wis. 2d 56 (Wis. 1963).

Opinions

Wilkie, J.

The principal issue on this appeal is whether there is any credible evidence to sustain a jury determination that Drake was negligent in respect to speed and consequently forfeited his directional right-of-way.

The trial court found both parties negligent with respect to lookout as a matter of law. This finding is amply supported by the evidence. Miss Holewinski testified that when she entered the intersection traveling at. a speed of five miles per hour, she saw Drake’s car at the crest of the hill to the north, 450 feet from the intersection. Since Miss Holewinski traveled a distance of only five feet, five inches, at five miles per hour before the collision, Drake would have had to have been traveling at a speed of 288 miles per hour to reach the point of impact, if he had been at the crest of the knoll when Miss Holewinski entered the intersection. If Miss Holewinski did look to her right upon entering the intersection, she obviously did not see what was in full view. She failed to discharge her duty of lookout as a matter of law.1

Drake testified that when he was about 25 feet north of the intersection, traveling at a speed of 20 to 25 miles per hour, he looked to his left and saw no approaching vehicle. Assuming that at this point Miss Holewinski was behind the knoll located 500 feet east of the intersection, she would have had to have been traveling at a speed of 156 miles per hour to reach the point of collision simultaneously with Drake, given his testimony as to his speed and distance from the intersection. Clearly, Drake was negligent as to lookout as a matter of law.

[62]*62In addition to faulty lookout on the part of both drivers, the trial court considered whether the provisions of sec. 346.18 (I), Stats., applied in these circumstances. Under that section,2 if two vehicles approach an uncontrolled right-angle intersection at approximately the same time, the respective rights and duties are wholly controlled by the provisions of the section. Vehicles are deemed to be entering an intersection at “approximately the same time”' if, at a given point in time,, there is an “imminent hazard of a collision if both continued the same course at the same speed.” 3

Because neither party testified that they altered' their speeds upon observing the other party approaching the intersection, although eách party had an unobstructed view of approaching traffic for a distance of over 400 feet, and because the collision occurred at the west edge of the northeast quadrant of the intersection, it necessarily follows that at several points in time immediately prior to the collision, there was an imminent hazard of such a collision, if the parties continued at'their same course of speed. Hence we must look to the provisions of sec. 346.18 (1), Stats., to determine the rights and duties of these parties.

The trial court reasoned that given the provisions of sec. 346.18 (1), Stats., Miss Holewinski, as the left-hand driver, [63]*63was negligent per se for failing to yield the right-of-wáy, unless Drake forfeited his right-of-way by traveling at an unlawful speed. Finding no credible evidence to support a determination that Drake’s speed was unlawful, the court concluded that her two items of negligent conduct compared with one item of negligence on the part of Drake, justified a determination as a matter of law, that she was at least as negligent as he.

Thus, our key inquiry must be as to whether the trial court was correct in finding no credible evidence of unlawful speed on the part of Drake. A preliminary consideration must be to define at what speed Drake would have to be traveling under the circumstances to forfeit his right-of-way.

The fact that Drake may have been driving at a speed less than the statutory or ordinance limit, does not necessarily mean that his speed was lawful. In Johnson v. Fireman’s Fund Indemnity Co.4 we held that a jury could reasonably find that a right-hand driver forfeited the right-of-way by reason of an unlawful speed by traveling at a speed less than statutory or ordinance limit when the streets were covered with packed, slippery snow. In determining the meaning of “unlawful speed” in sec. 346.18 (1), Stats., we may look to the generic legislative standard for reasonable speed, set forth in sec. 346.57 (2) and sec. 346.57 (3).5

[64]*64All drivers approaching an intersection must drive at an appropriate, reduced speed in response to the actual and potential hazards then existing.

What is the standard for determining whether a right-hand driver approaching an uncontrolled intersection is traveling at an appropriately reduced speed in the light of actual or potential hazards? We have often held that the right-of-way is not an absolute license to the right-hand driver to proceed through an intersection unconcerned with the conduct of the left-hand driver. The right-hand driver has the general duty to operate his vehicle with due care to avoid a collision.6 With respect to speed, the right-hand driver must reduce his speed, upon approaching an intersection, to a point where he can bring his vehicle to a stop short of a point of collision, if the left-hand driver fails to yield the right-of-way, the potential hazard which is always present when two vehicles approach an intersection at approximately the same time. Appropriately reduced speed on the part of the right-hand driver is dependent upon careful maintenance of lookout. The right-hand driver must adjust his speed in response to the conduct of the left-hand driver. Therefore, no specific rate of speed can be deemed lawful or unlawful within the meaning of “unlawful speed” in sec. 346.18 (1), Stats. The appropriately reduced speed, that speed which enables the driver to bring his car to a stop short of the point of collision if the left-hand driver fails to yield [65]*65the right-of-way, will be relative to the right-hand driver’s distance from the intersection, and the speed and distance from the intersection of the left-hand driver. Assuming that the right-hand driver is negligent as to speed, under the above standard, his forfeiture does not pass the right-of-way on to the left-hand driver. If the left-hand driver does not yield to the right-hand driver when the vehicles approach the intersection at approximately the same time, he shall be deemed negligent with respect to management and control as a matter of law.7

Applying the speed standard to the facts of this case, a jury could reasonably find that Drake was operating his vehicle at a speed which would not enable him to stop short of the point of collision, if Miss Holewinski failed to yield the right-of-way.

Drake testified that when he was 25 feet north of the intersection and traveling at a speed of 20 to 25 miles per hour, he looked to his left. We have already seen that, had he maintained proper lookout, he would have seen Miss Holewinski. Because the accident did occur in the intersection, we know that at this point, when Drake was 25 feet north of the intersection, her relative speed and distance from the intersection were such that it would be apparent to an observant right-hand driver that, if she continued her course and failed to yield the right-of-way, a collision would occur. If Drake had fully applied his brakes at that point, his total stopping distance would have been 47

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Department of Natural Resources v. City of Clintonville
191 N.W.2d 866 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1971)
Kidd v. Gardner Associated, Inc.
447 P.2d 414 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1968)
Gustin v. Johannes
153 N.W.2d 70 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1967)
Drake v. Farmers Mutual Automobile Insurance
22 Wis. 2d 56 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1963)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
22 Wis. 2d 56, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/drake-v-farmers-mutual-automobile-insurance-wis-1963.