A highway authority with statutory powers over road construction and maintenance breaches its duty of care where it fails to take reasonable steps to inspect for obvious dangers such as inadequate guide posts and deficient camber, even on gravel roads, where the expense of inspection and remediation is minimal and there are no competing responsibilities. However, a driver who is familiar with a road and drives at excessive speed with insufficient attention will be found contributorily negligent, even where the road authority's negligence materially contributed to the accident. On the facts, liability was apportioned equally.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 1 later case that cites this judgment.