DRIVING TOO CLOSE TO ANOTHER VEHICLE. 169 



which materially led to the accident, and the defendant was 

 found liable, notwithstanding that he did his best as far as 

 driving was concerned in the circumstances, (ct) 



134. Driving too Close to another Vehicle The driver 



of a second vehicle must keep a reasonable distance between 

 his OAvn and the one in front. Thus, two omnibuses were 

 driving along a narrow road at a moderate speed, and a 

 number of children were ]-unning after the first omnibus. 

 One of the children, a boy of six years old, having fallen, 

 the driver of the second omnibus was so near that he could 

 not pull up his horses in time, and the wheel of his omnibus 

 went over the boy, and killed him. The driver Avas found 

 liable in damages. Lord President Inglis said : — " It is 

 extremely vexatious and provoking for drivers of all kinds that 

 children should get in their way. But I am afraid that it is 

 part of the disposition of boys and girls to get in the way of 

 carriages, and that it is a fact in the natural history of 3'oung 

 people which must be taken into account in dealing with the 

 duty of drivers. Drivers must take account of this disposi- 

 tion as an incident inseparable from their occupation. The 

 question is, Avhether the driver followed his duty in respect 

 of these children, or whether he failed in his duty ? Now, 

 my opinion is that he failed in his duty. The result of the 

 whole evidence is that he was too near the other omnibus. 

 If he had been twenty or thirty yards farther back this acci- 

 dent would not, or might not, have happened. ... It was 

 impossible for the driver to pull up the horse, even with the 

 assistance of the passengers beside him, before the wheels 

 passed over the boy. This proves that he was too near."(?>) 

 Again, where the driver of a tram car, having observed a cab 

 at a stance from a distance of fifty yards off, and whistled on 

 approaching it, but yet ran into it, and injured the horse and 

 cab, the defence that the driver expected the cab to be driven 



(a) Ihirhin v. lillezikdji, 1889, 53 J.P. 760. 

 (I) Auld V. M'Bei/, 1881, 8 R. 495. 



