Is contributory negligence a defense in a motor vehicle accident case?

"It has long been the rule in criminal prosecutions that the contributory negligence of the victim is not a defense. [Citations.] In order to exonerate a defendant the victim's conduct must not only be a cause of his injury, it must be [an unforeseeable] superseding cause. . . . [A] victim's predictable effort to escape a peril created by the defendant is not considered a superseding cause of the ensuing injury or death. [Citations.] . . . 'When defendant's conduct causes panic an act done under the influence of panic or extreme fear will not negative causal connection unless the reaction is wholly abnormal.' [Citation.]" (People v. Armitage (1987) 194 Cal.App.3d 405, 420-421, fn. omitted.)