Facts
On December 6, 1963, Meier was driving his passenger car outbound on Winterthurerstrasse in Zurich. At the intersection with Dübendorfstrasse, he stopped to yield the right of way to the traffic coming from the right. As the three vehicles started moving again, the pedestrian Ernesto Polentarutti crossed the pedestrian crossing located immediately after the intersection. Meier was unable to brake in time and hit Polentarutti with the left front fender, causing him to fall and sustain injuries. Polentarutti filed a criminal complaint against Meier for negligent bodily harm.
The District Court of Zurich acquitted Meier, as the collision had been unavoidable. However, the Cantonal Court of Zurich overturned the judgment and convicted Meier for violating the right of way of pedestrians under Art. 33 para. 2 RTA and Art. 6 para. 1 TRO, imposing a fine of 200 Swiss francs.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court overturned the judgment of the Cantonal Court and remanded the case for a new assessment by the lower court. It stated that the right of way of pedestrians on pedestrian crossings is not unlimited, but may only be exercised at a reasonable distance from the approaching vehicle. The reasonableness of the distance is determined by the road and traffic conditions, not by the actual speed of the vehicle.
Since Polentarutti had entered the pedestrian crossing at too short a…