DADE COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND RAYMOND ABERNATHY, APPELLANTS,
v.
PETER EVEN, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
A motorcycle driver collided with a Metro bus at an intersection where both vehicles had green lights at the time they entered. The trial court awarded the motorcycle driver $18,000 (reduced to $9,000 by remittitur), but the appellate court reversed, holding that even with a green light, a driver must yield to traffic already lawfully in the intersection.
A vehicle entering an intersection on a favorable traffic signal does not have an unqualified right to proceed if traffic is already in the intersection or so close thereto as to create a hazard. Therefore, the motorcycle driver had a duty to exercise reasonable care to ensure traffic was clear before proceeding, and the judgment for the plaintiff was reversed because the bus was lawfully in the intersection when the light changed.
[1] A vehicle entering an intersection on a favorable traffic signal has the right of way.
[2] A favorable traffic signal does not grant a driver an unqualified right to proceed into an intersection if other traffic is present or creates a hazard.
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“when a vehicle enters an intersection with a favorable traffic signal it has the right of way”
Establishes the general rule that a green light gives a vehicle the right of way upon entry
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA Metro bus traveling south on S.W. 107th Avenue entered an intersection on a green light behind a dump truck making a left turn. A motorcycle driver …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Duty To Exercise Reasonable Care cases and more on FLexlaw
The appeal herein is by the defendant-appellant, Dade County Metropolitan Transit Authority and Raymond Abernathy, from a final judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff-appellee in an automobile negligence action.
A review of the record on appeal shows that the accident involving a Metro bus and a motorcycle occurred at the intersection of S. W. 107th Avenue and North Kendall Drive. The bus was traveling South on 107th Avenue and the appellee was headed East on Kendall. The bus was stopped at the intersection for a red light behind a dump truck. When the light turned green the bus proceeded South on 107th Avenue behind the truck which slowly moved through the intersection making a left turn on Kendall. Plaintiff testified he was traveling East on Kendall and that he slowed down for the red light but accelerated when the light turned green. The bus driver stated he never saw the motorcycle and plaintiff testified he did not see the dump truck and only saw the bus when it was entering Kendall’s left (North) lane past the median strip. A collision resulted and at trial the jury awarded $18,000 to plaintiff but the trial judge entered a re-mittitur reducing the judgment to $9,000.
Appellant-defendant contends that under Florida law the verdict is contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence regarding both negligence and contributory negligence.
From all the testimony, including that of the bus driver, the dump truck driver, and the passengers in the bus, the record shows no conflict or question that the bus entered the intersection on a green light. Plaintiff’s counsel, in closing argument, admitted that the bus entered the intersection on the green light but based his whole case on the theory that the light changed to red before the bus had cleared the intersection. Under this set of facts the law is clear that when a vehicle enters an intersection with a favorable traffic signal it has the right of way. MacNeill v. Neal, Fla.App.1971, 253 So.2d 263.
The bus was lawfully in the intersection when the traffic light changed giving the vehicles on Kendall the favorable signal. In this situation, however, a favorable light does not give the driver of a vehicle the unqualified right to proceed into an intersection in the face of traffic presently in the intersection or so close thereto as to create a hazard. The plaintiff, therefore, had a duty to exercise reasonable care to determine that traffic was clear and that no impending danger existed when he proceeded into the intersection after the change in the traffic signal. Kniskern v. Railway Express Agency, Inc., Fla.App.1959, 113 So.2d 563. Tackett v. Hartack, Fla.App.1957, 98 So.2d 896.
Thus the judgment appealed which allowed plaintiff to recover is reversed.
Reversed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Metro. Dade Cnty. v. Colina, 456 So. 2d 1233 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)…erve the right-of-way requirement. It is true that Mr. Masferrer was also required by law to stop, but that did not relieve Mr. Colina of his duty to proceed with due care to avoid a collision. See Dade County Metropolitan Transit Authority v. Even, 262 So. 2d 685 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972); Gordon's Tractor Service, Inc. v. Bilello, 336 So. 2d 1208 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976); MacNeill v. Neal, 253 So. 2d 263 (Fla. 2d DCA 1971), cert. denied, 259 So. 2d 719 (Fla.1972). Although he realized the intersection presented a danger…
-
Homburg v. Knipmeyer, 388 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980)…iffs case, defendant’s motion for directed verdict was granted and final judgment for defendant was entered. The court found no evidence of negligence and concluded the case was nearly identical to Dade County Metropolitan Transit Authority v. Even, 262 So. 2d 685 (Fla.3d DCA 1972). In Metropolitan Transit, a bus was stopped at a red light behind a dump truck. The dump truck proceeded slowly through the intersection making a left turn. The light changed while the bus was in the intersection and a motorcycle…
-
Weeks v. Ranson, 419 So. 2d 722 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982)…given by the court based on sections 316.122 and 316.075(l)(b), Florida Statutes (1981), was contradictory and confusing. She also argues that the court erred in not giving an instruction based on Dade County Metropolitan Transit Authority v. Even, 262 So. 2d 685 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972). We affirm the final judgment because we find no error in the court’s instructions. The testimony at trial given by Weeks was that she had stopped at the intersection of State Road 436 and University Boulevard in Winter Park, Flo…1 / 2
Authorities Cited
- Ellsworth R. MacNEILL & Guardian-Union Grp. of Ins. Cos. v. Neal, 253 So. 2d 263 (Fla. 2d DCA 1971)
- Hiram Tackett, Jr. v. Hartack, 98 So. 2d 896 (Fla. 3d DCA 1957)
- Kniskern v. Ry. Express Agency, Inc., 113 So. 2d 563 (Fla. 3d DCA 1959)