Bentley v. Chapman

WOOD (Fred B.), J.

Plaintiffs have appealed from a verdict and a judgment for defendant in an action for personal injuries sustained by plaintiffs while riding as guests in an automobile which collided with defendant’s parked truck.

Plaintiffs’ principal contention is that the trial court should have submitted to the jury only the question of the amount of the damages, claiming that defendant’s liability was established as a matter of law; i.e., that defendant was negligent as a matter of law, by parking his truck, in violation of a city ordinance, and that such negligence was, as a matter of law, a contributing proximate cause of the accident. This argument is not persuasive. It rests on a false premise. The ordinance invoked was not applicable.

The accident occurred September 12, 1948, about 5:30 a. m., in Redwood City, on El Camino Real, a state highway. Plaintiffs’ host, David Obera, was driving south along a section of the highway which had three lanes for southbound traffic.

[3]

He was in the outer of these three lanes, to the west of which was a fourth or parking lane in which defendant had parked his truck about 6 p. m. the night before. About one block from the place of the accident, Obera fell asleep. When he woke up he was in the parking lane and the truck was directly in front of him. The front of his car struck the back of the truck. The truck was parked with its right-hand wheels close to the curb. Hence, there was no proof of a violation of section 588 of the Vehicle Code as it then read (Stats. 1947, ch. 875, p. 2054). Nor was there any evidence that the State Department of Public Works had adopted and posted any parking restrictions, applicable to this state highway, as authorized by section 589.5 of the Vehicle Code (Stats. 1947, ch. 875, p. 2054).

A Redwood City ordinance adopted in 1943 provided that “No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle upon any street in the city of Redwood City for a period of time longer than one (1) hour between the hours of 1:30 o ’clock a. m. and 6:00 o ’clock a. m. of any day without a permit from the Police Department of this city.” Defendant did not have the indicated permit. Unless sanctioned by some provision of state law, the city council was without power to make this ordinance applicable to a state highway. (See Veh. Code, § 458, and