South Australian Ambulance Transport Incorporated v Wahlheim [1948] HCA 32

Cons/Foll cf Patterson v

ras MoGi EeSk) Cae,

77 C.L.R.J OF AUSTRALIA. 215

(HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA.]

THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN AMBULANCE Meo anee

TRANSPORT INCORPORATED. ae DEFENDANT, AND WAHLHEIM ; x 2 5 2 ' . RusponpEnt. PLAINTIFF, i

ON APPEAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

Negligence—Highway—Collision between motor car and motor ambulance—Inter- yy (, op A.

section—Duty to give way to vehicle on right—Exemption of ambulance from y4g. duty to give way—Duties of driver of ambulance—Duty to keep lookout at inter- = GA section—Road Traffic Act 1934-1945 (S.A.) (No. 2188 of 1934—No. 40 of 1945) AvELAmE, ss. 131, 156a.* Sept. 22, 23.

Section 131 of the Road Traffic Act 1934-1945 (S.A.) provides that at inter- S¥PNBY, sections, a driver of a vehicle shall give way to vehicles on his right-hand side Nov. 29-

by decreasing speed or stopping, while s. 156a exempts (inter alia) motor Latham ©.J.,

ambulances from the application of (inter alia) s. 181. On a quiet Sunday pigthng

| morning a collision occurred, at the intersection of two suburban streets, M¢Tiernan JJ.

between an ambulance and a motor car which was on the right-hand side of

the ambulance. In an action by the motor-car driver against the Company

owning the ambulance, the magistrate found that the ambulance driver was

negligent in approaching the intersection at an excessive speed; that the motor-car driver was negligent in not keeping a proper lookout to his left ; that this negligence was a cause of the collision ; that the negligence of each driver was a contributing factor in the effective cause of the damage; and entered judgment for the defendant. On appeal, Mayo J. accepted the findings of negligence but did not agree that the motor-car driver's negligenco had contributed to his injuries, set aside the judgment and remitted the case to the magistrate for assessment of damages.