R v Ranjeet

• Jurisdiction: Jamaica
• Judge: Shelley, J.A.
• Judgment Date: 17 May 1966
• Neutral Citation: JM 1966 CA 80
• Court: Court of Appeal (Jamaica)
• Date: 17 May 1966
• Docket Number: Criminal Appeal No. 75 of 1966

Court of Appeal

Lewis, P.; Waddington, J.; Shelley, J.

Criminal Appeal No. 75 of 1966

R.

and

Ranjeet

Appearances:

Mr. W.K. Chin See for the Crown

Mr. H.D. Carberry for the appellant

Criminal Law - Appeal against conviction (Road Traffic Offences)

1 Shelley, J.A. (Ag.): The appellant Ferdinand Ranjeet was convicted by the Acting judge of the Traffic Court on the 9th of February this year on two Informations, one charging him with driving without due care and attention, contrary to section 26 (1) of the Road Traffic Law Chapter 346; the other charging him with disobeying a stop sign, contrary to sections 86(1) and 86(2) of the Road Traffic Law Chapter 346, he has appealed from these convictions.

2 The charges arose out of a collision on Harbour Street in the parish of Kingston in which a motor cycle ridden by one Reginald Ferguson and a car driven by the appellant were involved.

3 The crown's case was that the motor cyclist Ferguson was riding westward along Harbour Street when the car driven by the appellant came across Harbour Street in a Northerly direction and caused the motor cyclist to collide with it. Ferguson himself gave evidence but gave little information as to how the accident occurred. He was unable to say any more than that he was going along, the car came out suddenly upon him and, according to him, knocked him over.

4 The crown called another witness, Kenneth Thorpe, who said that he was riding a bicycle along Harbour Street in the same direction as this motor cyclist, and from his evidence it seems that the motor cyclist had overtaken Thorpe when the car drove out into Harbour Street without stopping at the stop sign which it would have faced coming as it was from South Street, as I think that section of the road is called; Harbour Street, therefore, being the major road. Thorpe said that he pulled up his bicycle and thereby avoided hitting the car. The motor cyclist struck the side of the car. The car continued over into Orange Street and stopped. A police constable came on the scene and he was told by the appellant, “I was proceeding north or South Street, wanted to cross over into Orange Street, I came to a stop at the sign, looked both ways, saw nothing corning, so I decided to cross. As I reached the centre of the intersection I heard a crash on the right side of my car. I came out and saw a motor cyclist with whom I collided.” That in brief is the crown's case.

5 The appellant Ranjeet himself gave evidence, and said in evidence much the same as he said, to the policeman. He came to the stop sign; he stopped,...