HART V. YOUNG

7169/51

4.3 Gourley, Gort, Print, Me.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

Judgment delivered at. HOBART. on. SUPSDAY. 25/2/1955...

Appeal dismissed with costs,

This is an appeal from a judgment of the Chief Justice of Tasmania pronounced for the defendant in an action to recover damages for personal injuries caused by negligence, The action arose out of an accident which occurred as long ago as 6th August 1949, The plaintiff sustained his injuries while engaged a8 a cyclist in a road race, At the time he was a youth and he delayed bringing the action because he was not of age, The race was run on a course which terminated on a piece of road which had a bitumen surface and was straight for a very considerable length. The race was 50 miles in length and there were a number of competitors. The pleintiff: who was injured was one of two scratch men and the gteater body of the competitors hed pessed the finishing line before the events which led to the injury of the pisintiff took place.

A road race is, of course, a familiar thing. but the law does not look upon it with any particular favour because it is not a usual or natural use of the highway, In this case those organizing the cycle race apparently obtained the help of the police, There is a section in the Traffic Act 1925 of Tasmania {sec, 38} which enables a police officer to "close any street for traffic during any temporary obstruction or danger to traffic or for any temporary purpose, and may prevent the traffic of any vehicle or horse in any street closed to traffic under the authority of this or any other Act", Apparently reliance was placed by the police upon that provision either instinctively or. with actual knowledge of it. There is also a regulation made under the Traffic Act (reg, 121 XII) which requires people upon roadways to comply with directions given by the police.