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Question of Fact Whether Driver’s Gesture to Turn Was Proximate Cause of Collision

The Third Department determined there was a question of fact about whether defendant driver’s (Slawiendski’s) gesture indicating a second defendant driver (Shaut) could make a left turn in front of him was the proximate cause of plaintiff’s collision with the turning car:

…[T]he duty of a driver to act reasonably in signaling to another driver that he or she will yield the rightof-way or that the other driver may safely proceed is owed not just to the driver being signaled, but also to other motorists and passengers … . Here, there is evidence that Slawienski acted unreasonably based upon his testimony that he failed to check for traffic in his rear or side view mirrors before signaling to Shaut.  However, a signaling driver is liable only when the gesture is a proximate cause of a subsequent collision – an inquiry that “depends on whether the recipient of the gesture relied on it as an indication that the path was safe and clear” … . Proximate cause is generally a factual issue for a jury to resolve … . Here, Shaut testified that he relied on Slawienski’s signal in deciding to make the turn and would not have done so if not for the gesture; further, Slawienski testified that Shaut did not stop as he crossed into plaintiff’s lane, suggesting that Shaut relied on the gesture to indicate that the lane was clear. However, Shaut testified that he knew that he was separately obliged to check the safety of plaintiff’s lane; he stated that he slowed or stopped his vehicle before entering plaintiff’s lane to look for oncoming traffic, but did not see the motorcycle until after the collision. This evidence neither establishes as a matter of law that Shaut fully relied upon Slawienski’s gesture nor that his decision to proceed into plaintiff’s lane was entirely independent … . Thus, there are factual issues for the jury regarding the degree of Shaut’s reliance on Slawienski’s gesture, whether Shaut independently checked the safety of plaintiff’s lane, and if he did, whether the check was a superseding act severing the causal link between the gesture and the collision… . Nasadoski v Shaut, 516374, 3rd Dept 3-6-14

 

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