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Chief Constable of West Midlands Police v Billingham: 1979

Bridge LJ considered the meaning of the word ‘accident’, and, after saying that there had been many authorities for different stautory and contractual contexts, said: ‘It is, in my judgment, a word which has a perfectly well understood meaning in ordinary parlance, but that meaning is an elastic one according to the context in which the word is used.’ The attempt to define the word in Morris must be understood in relation to the particular facts of that case, and ‘I approach the matter here by asking whether in the ordinary man’s understanding of the word, especially having regard to the mischief at which this statue is aimed, the man in the street would say in such circumstances as those with which we are concerned that an accident had occurred owing to the presence of a motor vehicle on a road.’

Judges:

Bridge LJ

Citations:

[1979] RTR 446

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedRegina v Morris 1972
Whether the particular facts of a case amount to an accident is a question of law. In a case of disputed facts under s2(2) of the 1967 Act it is for the jury to decide the facts and apply to the facts found the judge’s direction as to the meaning of . .

Cited by:

CitedCurrie, Regina v CACD 26-Apr-2007
The defendant appealed his conviction for dangerous driving. The failure of the police to serve him with a notice of intended prosecution invalidated the conviction. The police replied that there was no need for such a notice because there had been . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Road Traffic

Updated: 19 July 2022; Ref: scu.251524

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