step in the dark rule

step-in-the-dark rule. Torts. The contributory-negligence rule that a person who enters a totally unfamiliar area in the darkness has a duty, in the absence of unusual stress, to refrain from proceeding until first ascertaining the existence of any dangerous obstacles. See contributory negligence under NEGLIGENCE. [Cases: Negligence 1286(8). C.J.S. Negligence § 640.]

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