Failure to Maintain Safe Distance Contributory Negligence in Rear-End Collision

The court was presented with an appeal concerning a liability claim stemming from a motor vehicle accident where the defendant driver, despite having the right of way, was deemed partially responsible for failing to maintain a safe distance, thus being unable to stop in time to avoid collision with the preceding vehicle which had unexpectedly braked. The Court of Cassation upheld the lower court's decision, reasoning that the failure to maintain a sufficient safety margin constituted a fault under the general principles of tort law, contributing concurrently to the damage, even though the immediate cause of the accident was the unexpected braking of the vehicle ahead.