Wulbern

This is an action for personal injuries. The defendant in his answer pleaded contributory negligence. A jury rendered a verdict in the sum of $2,000 in favor of the plaintiff. The trial court granted a motion for a new trial on the ground of the insufficiency of evidence to sustain the verdict. • Plaintiff appealed from the order granting the motion for a new trial.

At about 11 o’clock P. M. on the night of the accident a truck, with trailer attached, owned and operated by defend ants, was proceeding in a southerly direction along the state highway near Belmont in San Mateo County. The highway at this point is an oiled macadam roadway of approximately twenty-five feet in width, with a two and a half foot shoulder on each side. Mechanical difficulty appearing, the driver parked the truck on the right side of the roadway. The tail-light on the trailer was burning. Plaintiff, operating a Ford coupe traveling at a speed of thirty-two miles an hour and in the same direction as the truck, saw the truck and trailer at least forty-five feet away. A traffic officer, experienced in operating Fords, who was well acquainted with the road and its condition on the night of the accident,…