A commercial truck driver must take “extreme caution” when driving in hazardous conditions, this district’s Court of Appeal ruled yesterday, saying it was prejudicial error for a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to give an instruction inferring that a lesser degree of care was acceptable. . . .
[Plaintiff's] lawyers argued that the driver’s duty under the circumstances was set forth in a federal regulation enacted under the 1994 Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act, and asked Judge Michael L. Stern to instruct the jury accordingly.
The regulation reads: “Extreme caution in the operation of a commercial motor vehicle shall be exercised when hazardous conditions, such as those caused by snow, ice, sleet, fog, mist, rain, dust, or smoke, adversely affect visibility or traction. Speed shall be reduced when such conditions exist.”
Stern rejected the proposed instruction . . . .
Details here from the Metropolitan News-Enterprise. The case is Weaver v. Chavez, Second App. Dist., Div. 4, No. B176286.