NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has held that a car driver, who applies sudden brakes on a highway without any warning, can be held negligent in the event of a road accident.

A bench comprising Justices Suddhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar on Tuesday observed that a driver’s abrupt halt in the middle of a highway, even if triggered by a personal emergency, cannot be justified if it endangers other road users. “On a highway, high speed of vehicles is expected and if a driver intends to stop his vehicle, he has a responsibility to give a warning or signal to other vehicles moving behind on the road,” Justice Dhulia said.

The verdict came on a plea of S Mohammed Hakim, an engineering student whose left leg had to be amputated after a road accident in Coimbatore on January 7, 2017. The incident occurred when Hakim’s motorcycle collided with the rear of a car that had come to an unexpected stop.

“In our view, the concurrent finding that the appellant was definitely negligent in not maintaining a sufficient distance from the vehicle moving ahead and driving the motorcycle without a valid licence is correct,” said the bench.