Applying sudden brakes on a highway without any signal or warning can amount to negligence, the Supreme Court has ruled, underlining the responsibility of drivers to avoid endangering others.
The judgment came in a case involving S Mohammed Hakim, an engineering student who lost his leg following a road accident in Coimbatore in 2017. The apex court on Tuesday ruled that the driver of a car who abruptly halted on a highway without signalling was liable for negligence that contributed to the accident.
Delivering the verdict, a bench of Justices Suddhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar said, “On a highway, high speed of vehicles is expected and if a driver intends to stop his vehicle, he has a responsibility to give a warning or signal to other vehicles moving behind on the road.”
Hakim, who was riding a motorcycle, had collided with the rear of a car that had come to a sudden and unannounced stop. The impact threw him onto the road, where he was run over by a bus approaching from behind. His left leg had to be amputated as a result of the injuries.
The car driver argued that he had applied brakes because his pregnant wife experienced a vomiting sensation. However, the court rejected this justification. “The explanation given by the car driver for suddenly stopping his car in the middle of a highway is not a reasonable explanation from any angle,” the bench noted.
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The court held the car driver liable for 50 per cent of the negligence, the bus driver for 30 per cent, and the appellant, Hakim, for 20 per cent, owing to contributory negligence, particularly for not maintaining a safe distance and riding without a valid driving licence.
While allowing Hakim’s plea for enhanced compensation, the court said, “In our view, the concurrent finding that the appellant was definitely negligent in not maintaining a sufficient distance from the vehicle moving ahead and driving the motorcycle without a valid license is correct.” It added, however, that “the root cause of the accident is the sudden brakes applied by the car driver.”
The total compensation was calculated at ₹1.14 crore. However, it was reduced by 20 per cent to account for the appellant’s contributory negligence. The remaining amount is to be paid by the insurance companies of the two vehicles involved, within four weeks.
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal had earlier exonerated the car driver, assigning 80 per cent of the blame to the bus driver and 20 per cent to the appellant. The Madras High Court revised this distribution, assigning 40 per cent liability to the car driver, 30 per cent to the bus driver, and 30 per cent contributory negligence to the motorcyclist.
The Supreme Court's latest decision modifies these findings, placing primary responsibility on the car driver for creating a hazard by braking without warning on a high-speed highway.
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