Even if you are negotiating a highway the wrong way, in the
dark, dressed in black, having spent the afternoon in the pub
Christopher McNab v Bluebird Buses Limited - Court of
Session, 20 February 2007
Christopher McNab was knocked down in an RTA on 8 March 2003.
Damages were agreed at £11,000 with interest. The pursuer had spent
an afternoon drinking in the pub and had missed his bus home. He
decided to take the main A92 road by foot in the dark without a
torch. He was struck from behind by a bus. It was pitch dark. The
pursuer was to the right of the white line demarcating the edge of
the carriageway. He was walking with his back to oncoming traffic.
He was wearing dark clothing.
The first question for the court to determine was whether it had
been proved that the defender's driver fell below the standard of
reasonable care. The bus driver had not seen the pursuer. The court
attached no importance at all to the fact that the pursuer had been
drinking and indeed Lord Brodie stated "If the pursuer's
consumption of alcohol made him more foolhardy than he otherwise
would have been, it is his foolhardy behaviour that I must
consider, not its explanation."
He found the bus driver to be at fault and assessed contributory
negligence at 50%.