Harold has wanted to buy a new car for some years. Unfortunately, his job as a window cleaner did not pay very well at all, and he was unable to afford anything more than a bicycle. However, after months of saving he had saved enough to buy a small, second-hand car. The moment he drove out of the car yard Harold was the proudest of all proud car owners. He was, perhaps, a little too proud. His belief in his driving skills was incredible, and the experience of three near-accidents on the way home from the car yard did not make him question his driving capacity.

As he drove into the driveway of his house Harold was met by his wife, Maude. Maude was in a state of great distress because she had forgotten that their children were at school, and needed to be collected. She normally travelled to the school by bus to meet them, but on this day had become so caught up in her housework that the children had completely slipped her mind. Harold calmed her as well as he could, and suggested that he drive her to the school. Maude, who knew something of Harold's real driving ability and was a little unsure, but in the end agreed that he should drive her to the school.

As he came to the intersection of a major highway Harold indicated, checked his rear-view mirror, but completely forgot to slow down. Ten metres from the intersection he remembered, and applied the brakes with great force. The car spun out of control and collided with an electricity pole. Harold was slightly hurt, but had been wearing a seat belt which had prevented serious injury. Maude, however, had not been wearing a seat belt, and was flung through the windscreen. She received severe injuries.

The collision with the electricity pole cut the electricity to several suburbs, with consequent inconvenience and some expense. In particular, the U-Bewt Shoes factory had to shut down its operations. The shut-down lasted for two days; for the first day the factory was without electricity. On the second day electricity was restored, but the manager decided to take the opportunity to carry out some urgent maintenance work.

a) Discuss the legal position of Maude and

b) U-Bewt Shoes in an action in negligence against Harold.

Use a problem-solving format and commence your analysis by discussing the elements required to prove negligence.