Covington v. Gernert

Smith, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. The question presented here as to whether a driver on a through highway going in the wrong direction on a one-way street is entitled to the protection of Maryland’s boulevard rule as enunciated in Greenfeld v. Hook, 177 Md. 116, 132 , 8 A. 2d 888 (1939), must be decided in the light of the changes wrought in Maryland’s motor vehicle law by its complete revision by Chapter 534 of the Acts of 1970. By its terms the revised law is not applicable “to any traffic accident ... occurring prior to [its] effective date,” January 1, 1971. Accordingly, it was not applicable to Creaser v. Owens, 267 Md. 238 , 297 A. 2d 235 (1972), and Hensel v. Beckward, 273 Md. 426 , 330 A. 2d 196 (1974).

We most recently reviewed the boulevard rule in Dean v. Redmiles, 280 Md. 137 , 374 A. 2d 329 (1977), noting that our interpretation of the rule in that case wTas consistent with the revised statutory provisions. Maryland Code (1957, 1970 Repl. Vol.) Art. 66V2, § 11-403 (b) requires “[t]he driver of a vehicle [to] come to a full stop ... at the entrance to a through highway and [to] yield the right-of-way to other vehicles approaching on the through highway.” The term “through highway” is defined in § 1-198. “Right of way” is defined in § 1-175 as meaning “the right of one vehicle .. . to proceed in a lawful manner on a highway in preference to another vehicle....” (Emphasis added.) This definition is in sharp contrast to that in Code (1957) Art. 66V2, § 2 (a) (45) which defined the term as “[t]he privilege of the immediate use of the highway.” The facts here are undisputed. The accident giving rise to this litigation took place in Baltimore on November 9,1974.

Appellant, Walter Covington (Covington), was proceeding ³²⁴ eastbound on Chase Street. He stopped at a stop sign at the intersection of Chase Street with Washington Street, a “through highway.” Washington Street is designated as a “one-way” street for traffic going northbound. His testimony was to the effect that he stopped and looked in the direction from which traffic should have been coming. Appellee, Norman Gernert (Gernert), was operating a vehicle proceeding the wrong way on Washington Street.

A collision ensued. Covington obtained a judgment against Gernert in the District Court. The Baltimore City Court reversed on appeal, holding that the boulevard rule protected Gernert. In Greenfeld, 177 Md. at 132 , this Court said that this statutory requirement was “mandatory, that it is the positive and imperative duty of a person driving an automobile over an unfavored highway, when he approaches an intersecting highway lawfully designated as a ‘boulevard’ or ‘stop street,’ to stop before entering the intersection, and having stopped, to exercise reasonable care and diligence to discover whether traffic thereon is approaching the intersection, and, having entered the intersection, to yield the right of way to