Corbin v Commissioner of Police

• Jurisdiction: Barbados
• Court: Divisional Court (Barbados)
• Judge: Ward J.,Williams, J.
• Judgment Date: 27 June 1969
• Docket Number: No. 34 of 1969
• Date: 27 June 1969

Divisional Court

Ward J.; Williams, J.

No. 34 of 1969

Corbin

and

Commissioner of Police

Appearances:

Sir T. Brancker, Q.C., for the appellant.

Mr. H.S.L. Moseley for the respondent.

Evidence - Charge of driving without reasonable consideration for other persons on the road — Magistrate attributing technical meaning to expression used by witness, which witness may not have had in mind — Misdirection

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT:

1 The charge against the appellant was that on March 16, 1968 about 3.45 a.m. he drove a motor car S.952 on Lazaretto Hill Road without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road. The magistrate convicted him and fined him $24.00 payable forthwith with the alternative of fourteen days imprisonment. The magistrate also ordered the appellant's licence to be endorsed. The ground of appeal argued before us was that the magistrate in arriving at his decision misdirected himself as to the evidence. Another ground of appeal was that the magistrate's decision was erroneous in law.

2 The case against the appellant was that on the relevant morning Ralph Hinds was motoring along Black Rock Road towards the country. His car was on its left and proper side and its headlamps were burning. When he reached a bend in the road by the Lazaretto he saw a car coming towards him on its offside. He applied his brakes but there was a collision.

3 The appellant was the driver of this car. He stated that he was on his left and proper side of the road when he saw Hinds' car. He heard an impact like a tyre blowing out to the left front of his car. His car swerved across the road and there was a collision.

4 The magistrate after adverting to certain aspects of the evidence found that at the time of the collision the appellant's car was on its right or off side and was travelling at a fast rate of speed. From the above facts he was satisfied beyond doubt that the appellant had driven without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road.

5 The magistrate earlier in his reasons referred to the evidence of Ralph Hinds. He stated that Hinds had seen the appellant's car coming towards him on its off side at a fast rate of speed. Hinds, according to the record, said nothing of the sort. He said that the appellant's car was travelling at a moderate rate of speed.

6 Having regard to this it is impossible to support a conviction based on the magistrate's view as to the speed at which the appellant was driving his car. It only remains to consider whether the conviction can be supported by the finding of the magistrate that the appellant's car was being driven on its off side.

7 We are of the view that it cannot be thus supported. The defence relied on by the appellant was that he was on his off side because...