Can a driver who exits a private driveway and crosses a highway from a private road or driveway avoid a collision?

In Cepo v. Short, [1993] O.J. No. 1907 (O.C.G.D.) the defendant exited a private driveway and crossed the highway with the intent of entering another private driveway. In executing the manoeuver, he’d failed to observe the plaintiff who was driving toward him on the highway at normal speed. The defendant pulled onto the highway when the plaintiff was only 2 or 3 meters away and unable to avoid a collision. Focusing on Section 119 of The Highway Traffic Act [the predecessor to Section 139(1)] and finding the defendant totally at fault, the court observed: The duty imposed by this section is clearly a high one and a driver must refrain from entering a highway from a private road or driveway or cross a highway from a private road or driveway when vehicles are approaching on the highway until they have passed the driveway or private road. That section therefore imposes a very positive duty…breach of which would clearly constitute negligence. On the other hand, the plaintiff …who was operating her motor vehicle on the through highway, was under a duty to exercise ordinary care under the circumstances. She did not have an absolute right to proceed regardless of the danger confronting her. As a driver exercising ordinary care, she had the right to assume the defendant…would obey the law and she had a right to rely and act on that assumption. However, if it became reasonably apparent that the defendant is not going to obey the law, and she chose to ignore the obvious danger, her doing so would be negligence.