Pell v. Tidwell, [Ms. 2120313, May 10, 2013] ___ So. 3d ___ (Ala. Civ. App. 2013). "Because
a driver cannot delegate his or [her] responsibility for ensuring that
it is safe to proceed across an intersection ..., we now hold that, as
a matter of law, a signaling motorist cannot be held liable for negligence
when the signaled driver proceeds across an intersection without independently
ensuring that it is safe to do so. In other words, the signaling motorist's
conduct constitutes a courtesy to the signaled motorist, but it does not
relieve the signaled motorist of his or her own duty to ensure that it
is safe to proceed." Defendant Tidwell gave a signal to the driver
of the car in which Pell was a passenger, Pell's driver proceeded,
and a collision ensued. The Court of Civil Appeals addresses the question
as one of first impression, reviews authorities from other jurisdictions,
and affirms a judgment for Tidwell.
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