[NAC] Separated the head from it's shoulders...

[Andrew Duane USG]

Hairy green toads from Mars made Cynic5KS at aol.com say:

> What is the liability when the front of one's car comes in contact with a 
> canine at a decent rate of speed?
> 
> I've heard 2 opposing views... Driver is responsible because they didn't 
> "have their car under control" and Owner is responsible because the dog 
> wasn't on a leash.

It depends on leash laws where you were.

If it was a city, or a tidy little suburb with leash laws, the
owner was negligent in letting his dog run free. Unless it accidentally
escaped, in which case it's just an accident.

If it was out in a country place, it is less clear.

How "decent" was the speed? If it was too fast for conditions,
that's one thing. If it was on a 55MPH road, doing 55MPH, that's
another.

-- 

Andrew L. Duane (JOT-7)			duane at zk3.dec.com
Compaq Computer Corporation		(603)-884-1294
110 Spit Brook Road
M/S ZKO3-3/U14
Nashua, NH    03062-2698

Only my cat shares my opinions, and she's too psychotic to express it