Law: Tort of Negligence?

I am writing an essay on proximity in the tort of negligence. What the key points in the concept and application of the concept?

The element of proximity requires that a wrongful act (negligence) be the "proximate" or direct cause of the damage or injury that occurs. There must be an unbroken chain of causation between the wrongful act and the resulting injury. The injured party must prove that there was no contributory or intervening negligence from another party that directly led to the injury.

If a person fails to exercise reasonable care for his or her own safety and that failure helps to cause his or her own injury then this "contributory" negligence could be the proximate cause of the injury - not the negligence of the other party. For example, a driver is going 40 miles an hour in a 30 MPH zone and hits a pedestrian. Exceeding the speed limit would be considered a negligent act. If, however, the pedestrian had run into the street without looking for on-coming cars, his contributory negligence would be the proximate cause of the injury. The injury would not have occurred if the pedestrian had been using reasonable care for his own safety.

Intervening negligence is another element that affects the "proximity" concept. If, for example, a passenger in the speeding car had grabbed the steering wheel and taken over control of the car, this "intervening" negligence would be the proximate cause of the injury, and not the driver's original negligent act of driving too fast. The injury would not have occurred if the passenger hadn't intervened.

To prove negligence you first have to prove that there is a duty of care. Then you have to prove that there was a breach of duty of care.