Steadman v London United Busways Ltd & Anor

A driver who slows in heavy traffic to signal that an approaching vehicle may safely turn is not negligent merely because a following vehicle is too close, provided the manoeuvre is normal and not abnormal or heavy braking. A driver following traffic must maintain a safe distance and keep a proper lookout. Where an emergency stop is caused by inadequate following distance or failure promptly to observe slowing traffic, liability may rest with the following driver rather than the vehicle ahead.

The claimant, a bus passenger, suffered tetraplegia when the bus driver made an emergency stop behind a Ferrari in heavy traffic. The bus operator alleged that the Ferrari driver had deliberately or negligently braked, and proceedings were brought against both defendants. The court tried the preliminary issue of liability between the defendants. The central questions were whether the Ferrari driver had braked suddenly or abnormally, whether he should have appreciated that the bus was following too closely, and which driver's conduct caused the accident.

1. The claim by the first defendant against the second defendant was dismissed. The court found no negligence on the part of the Ferrari driver. Under the undertaking given to the court, the first defendant was to meet the claimant's claim in full if the second defendant was found not negligent.

2. The Ferrari driver's delays in moving off were caused by his considerate decisions to allow vehicles to move into the offside lane. His subsequent reduction of speed was intended to indicate to a Mini driver that it was safe to turn across the carriageway. That was a normal manoeuvre in heavy city traffic and did not involve heavy or abnormal braking.

3. The evidence did not establish deliberate braking, use of the handbrake, or any culpable failure by the Ferrari driver to attend to traffic. The court accepted that any braking was slight and that some reduction in speed resulted from engine braking. The Ferrari driver was entitled to assume that the bus driver would keep a proper lookout and drive with ordinary care. He was not required to keep the bus in view through his rear-view mirror at all times or to maintain a constant speed merely because the bus was following too closely.

4. The bus driver had become impatient, had sounded his horn, and had moved unnecessarily close to the Ferrari. The bus was travelling too close when the Ferrari reduced speed. The accident resulted from the inadequate following distance and probably from the bus driver's failure promptly to observe the Ferrari's brake lights or slowing movement. Had he maintained a safe distance or kept a proper lookout, the accident would not have occurred.