Fog and Collision on the Sound
A federal judge rules on a collision between two steamers, the Mary F. Perley and the Flyer, near Alki Point.
In the case of the libel of Thomas Redding, owner of the steamer Mary F. Perley, against the steamer Flyer for damages caused by a collision near Alki Point in October 1902, Judge Hanford found that both vessels were at fault. The collision occurred on a foggy morning about one and a half miles south of Battery Point (locally known as Alki Point). The master of the Mary F. Perley, after hearing the Flyer’s whistle, erroneously assumed the vessels were on opposite courses and steered into the Flyer’s path. However, the court also found the Flyer was running at full speed—fifteen to twenty miles per hour—through the fog, making it impossible to avoid the collision once the Perley appeared. The court decreed that damages be split equally between the two vessels.
“Passengers, who knew from the bells that something unusual was about to happen, had scarcely time to move from their seats.”
Collisions on the Puget Sound were frequent, deadly, and expensive in the early 20th century. Today, modern radar and traffic management have mostly replaced these foggy-whistle gambles, but the legal framework of 'contributory fault' remains alive in maritime law.
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