Wakilii

Robinson v Button (Civil Appeal No. 2 of 1940)

East African Court of Appeal · [1940] EACA 2 · 1940 Appeal Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal from the Supreme Court of Kenya dismissing a claim for damages for personal injuries sustained in a motor collision
Decision
Judgment entered for the appellant with damages and costs awarded

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal held that the respondent driver was negligent in emerging from a side road at a blind corner and crossing a main road at 20 miles per hour without stopping or adjusting his speed, despite knowing it was cotton season with lorries using the road at high speed. By charging across the main road, the respondent put the lorry driver in a difficult position requiring a split-second decision. The respondent's failure to give way to traffic on the main road as required by Traffic Rules 1928 Rule 23 amounted to negligence causing the collision and the appellant passenger's injuries.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the appellant with damages and costs awarded

Facts

The appellant was a passenger in a motor car driven by the respondent. The respondent was driving along a narrow side road that crossed a wide main road diagonally at a blind corner obscured by thick bushes. The respondent emerged onto the main road at 20 miles per hour without slowing down. Upon reaching the main road, he saw a lorry approaching 60 to 80 yards away at nearly 80 miles per hour. The respondent estimated he could cross with two cars' lengths to spare and proceeded across. The lorry swerved left off the main road and crashed into the left side of the respondent's car 51 feet from where it had emerged onto the main road. The appellant suffered injuries in the collision. The trial court dismissed her claim, finding no negligence proved. The lorry driver was neither a party nor a witness.

Issues

  1. Whether the respondent was negligent in driving his motor car across a main road at a blind corner at 20 miles per hour without stopping, thereby causing a collision that injured the appellant passenger.
  2. Whether the respondent's conduct in crossing the main road put the lorry driver in a position requiring a sudden decision that led to the collision.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed with costs here and below.
  • Respondent found guilty of negligence and liable in damages.
  • Judgment entered for the appellant for Sh. 12,189 and costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Negligence — Motor Collision — Duty of Driver Emerging from Side Road onto Main Road
A driver emerging from a side road at a blind corner onto a main road owes a duty to proceed slowly and give way to vehicles travelling on the main road, and failure to do so when crossing at speed constitutes negligence.
Negligence — Causation — Putting Another in Position Requiring Sudden Decision
Where one person by a negligent act puts another person in a position requiring a sudden decision to avoid an accident, and that other person makes a negligent mistake in the split second available which would not have been made but for being forced into that position, the first person is responsible for any damage caused.
Negligence — Passenger Claims — Duty of Care Owed by Driver to Passenger
A driver owes a duty to a passenger to exercise reasonable and proper care, and breach of that duty resulting in injury to the passenger gives rise to liability in damages.
Negligence — Traffic Regulations — Rule 23 Traffic Rules 1928 — Duty to Give Way
Traffic Rule 23 of the Traffic Rules 1928 requires a vehicle approaching a road from a private way or road of lesser importance to proceed slowly and give way to vehicles travelling on such road, and failure to comply with this duty in circumstances where compliance is essential to avoid collision constitutes negligence.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Traffic Rules 1928 Rule 23

Cases cited (3)

  • Corstar v Eurymedon (1938) 1 AELR Pt 2 122
  • Karmani v Nairobi Municipality (14 KLR 129)
  • Phillips v Brittania Hygienic Laundry Co Ltd (39 TLR 209)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Robinson v Button (Civil Appeal No. 2 of 1940) [1940] EACA 2 (1 January 1940)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.