District Council of Ridley v McIntyre

The District Council of Ridley sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of a Chief Justice. The dispute concerned an alleged failure by the Council to warn motorists of an advisory speed for a particular section of road, which the Chief Justice had found constituted negligence.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether a road construction authority, such as the District Council of Ridley, is under a general duty to warn the motoring public of an advisory speed for a section of road that can only be safely negotiated at restricted speeds. This question arose from the Chief Justice's finding of negligence based on a broad principle, which the applicant argued was not supported by the evidence presented at trial.

The applicant contended that the Chief Justice's finding of negligence was based on a general proposition regarding advisory speed signs that was not debated or established by expert evidence. The applicant argued that the Chief Justice had introduced this principle *a priori* or from general experience, rather than from the specific facts and evidence of the case. Furthermore, the applicant submitted that applying such a general duty to gravel roads was particularly problematic, as road conditions on gravel surfaces vary significantly, making a universally applicable advisory speed impractical and potentially misleading.