to the meeting, passing, and conduct of teams on
the road; and it is more important that there should be some well
established and understood rules on the subject than what the rules
are. In England the rules are somewhat different, and some of them
are the reverse of what they are in this country. But the rules and
the law relating thereto in this country are about the same in every
State of the Union. Our statutes provide that when persons meet each
other on a bridge or road, travelling with carriages or other
vehicles, each person shall seasonably drive his carriage or other
vehicle to the right of the middle of the travelled part of such
bridge or road, so that their respective carriages or other vehicles
may pass each other without interference; that one party passing
another going in the same direction must do so on the left-hand side
of the middle of the road, and if there is room enough, the foremost
driver must not wilfully obstruct the road.[36]

[36] Pub. St. c. 93.

Although these are statutory rules, yet they are not inflexible in
every instance, as on proper occasions they may be waived or
reversed. They are intended for the use of an intelligent and
civilized people; and in the crowded streets of villages and cities,
situations or circumstances may frequently arise when a deviation
will not only be justifiable but absolutely necessary. One may
always pass on the left side of a road, or across it, for the
purpose of stopping on that side, if he can do so without
interrupting or obstructing a person lawfully passing on the other
side.[37] And if the driver of a carriage on the proper side of the
road sees a horse coming furiously on the wrong side of the road, it
is his duty to give way and go upon the wrong side of the road, if
by so doing he can avoid an accident.[38] But in deviating from the
"law of the road," one must be able to show that it was the proper
and reasonable thing to do under the circumstances, or else he will
be answerable for all damages; for the law presumes that a party who
is violating an established rule of travelling is a wrongdoer.[39] Of
course a person on the right side of the road has no right to run
purposely or recklessly into a trespasser, simply because he has
wrongfully given him the opportunity to receive an injury, and then
turn round and sue for damages arising from his own foolhardiness
and devil-may-care conduct.[40]

[37] Angell on Highways, Sec. 336.