Question

1. Assume the following happened:

• One of the stop signs at the intersection of two Coquitlam roads is knocked over on Saturday evening;

• The city Roads & Transportation Service (responsible for “signs down, missing or vandalized”) gets a call to their Engineering Customer Service very early on Sunday morning (so now they know the sign is down) but decides to wait until Monday morning to replace the sign, in order to save $1,250 overtime pay to its road crew;

• Sunday evening, Mr. Zhang, unaware that the sign is missing, assumes that he has the right-of-way, enters the intersection without slowing, and collides with Mr. Samnani’s car;
• The two cars and their occupants suffer damages which total $10,000 ($4,000 to Mr. Zhang and $6,000 to Mr. Samnani);

• At trial, the court accepts the traffic expert testimony that the probability, per day, that such an accident will occur is 20% if there is no stop sign in place and 5% if there is a stop sign.

Will the court (they apply the Hand Rule) find the Roads & Transportation Service negligent? Show your work.

Answer 1

ANS. When courts apply the Hand Rule that states where the cost (burden) of taking precautions, is lesser than the probability of loss together combined with the gravity of loss. Then it creates a duty of due care for the defendant., which here is Coquitlam city Roads & Transportation Service.

Damages ($10000) x Probability of Error with no stop sign (20%) > $1,250 overtime pay (cost of putting the sign)

$2000 > $1250

This creates a duty of service on the Coquitlam city Roads & Transportation Service.