Opinion
42877 Record No. 8104.
April 23, 1973
Present, All the Justices.
Automobiles — Contributory Negligence — Backing Up — Summary Judgment.
Plaintiff stopped in outside lane of heavily traveled, divided four-lane highway. Without giving signal, plaintiff backed his car in the same lane in the direction of defendant's truck which plaintiff had seen coming. Not error to grant summary judgment on contributory negligence.
Error to a judgment of the Circuit Court of Washington County. Hon. J. Aubrey Matthews, judge presiding.
Affirmed.
Joseph P. Johnson, Jr., for plaintiff in error.
James P. Jones (Penn, Stuart Eskridge, on brief), for defendant in error.
William Trigg Clark, Sr. (plaintiff), was awarded this writ of error from a summary judgment against him in his action for damages against Conley Winston Parks (defendant). We must determine whether the trial court was correct in holding plaintiff's testimony established contributory negligence which proximately caused the automobile crash.
The crash in which plaintiff was injured occurred in a heavily populated area approximately one-half mile west of Abingdon on U.S. Route 11, a divided four-lane highway. The speed limit on this heavily traveled highway was 45 miles per hour.
Plaintiff, who was proceeding westwardly, testified that he observed a car operated by Mrs. L. P. Johnson, an acquaintance, waiting to enter Route 11 from her driveway on the north side of the highway. As he approached the Johnson car, plaintiff noticed a ladies' handbag sitting on top of the car. He waved to Mrs. Johnson to call her attention to the handbag and then stopped his car in the right (outside) westbound traffic lane approximately 50 to 75 feet west of the private driveway. As he was stopping plaintiff looked in his rear view mirror and saw the top of defendant's westbound truck as that truck came over a rise about 1000 feet east of the site of the wreck.
Plaintiff then backed his car eastwardly in the right (outside) westbound lane. The rear of his car was struck by the front of the defendant's truck at a point just west of the Johnson driveway.
Plaintiff's testimony establishes that he was guilty of negligence when he violated Code Sec. 46.1-216. He backed his vehicle toward oncoming traffic without exercising reasonable care to see that such movement could be made in safety. That this negligence on his part was a proximate cause of the crash is apparent.
Code Sec. 46.1-216 provides: "Every driver who intends to start, back, stop, turn or partly turn from a direct line shall first see that such movement can be made in safety and whenever the operation of any other vehicle may be affected by such movement shall give such signals as are required in Sec. 46.1-217, 46.1-218 or 46.1-220, plainly visible to the driver of such other vehicle, of his intention to make such movement."
Affirmed.