Legal issues that owners cannot ignore when lending vehicles to others

——Jiangsu Yunya Law Firm Xu Xiaowei

 

With the rapid development of the times, cars have become the universal means of transportation. As of the end of 2016, the number of national vehicles has reached 194.4 million. Due to the sharp increase in the number of motorists, there have been frequent cases of motor vehicle road traffic accidents. In life, we often encounter, someone generously lends all personal vehicles to others, and the author analyzes the legal issues that car owners should pay attention to when lending vehicles.

According to the provisions of Article 49 of the Tort Liability Law: "When the owner and the user of the motor vehicle are not the same person due to the circumstances of renting or borrowing, etc., after the traffic accident occurs, the motor vehicle belongs to the motor vehicle. Within the scope of the motor vehicle compulsory insurance liability limit, the motor vehicle user shall be liable for compensation; if the motor vehicle owner is at fault for the occurrence of the damage, he shall bear the corresponding liability for compensation.” According to the Road Traffic Safety Law Article 76: "If a motor vehicle has a personal accident or property damage caused by a traffic accident, the insurance company shall compensate within the limits of the compulsory third party liability insurance liability limit. The part exceeding the liability limit shall be undertaken in the following manner. Liability: (1) In the event of a traffic accident between motor vehicles, the faulty party shall be responsible; if both parties are at fault, share the responsibility according to the proportion of their faults.” How to determine in practice that “there is a fault in the occurrence of damage” "?" According to the first article of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Applicable Law for the Trial of Road Traffic Accident Damage Compensation Cases, which was implemented on December 21, 2012, motor vehicles have caused damage caused by traffic accidents, and motor vehicle owners or managers have In one of the following circumstances, the people's court shall determine that it is at fault for the occurrence of the damage and shall determine the corresponding liability for compensation in accordance with the provisions of Article 49 of the Tort Liability Law: (1) knowing or should know that the motor vehicle is defective, and Defect is one of the causes of traffic accidents (here, the defect of the motor vehicle refers to the problem that the vehicle's power system, braking system, etc. affect the normal driving of the vehicle); (2) knowing or should know that the driver is not driving or not Those who have obtained the corresponding driving qualifications (such as those who hold a C2 driver's license, can only drive automatic transmission models, can not drive manual transmission models); (3) know or should know that the driver is drinking alcohol, taking state-controlled psychotropic drugs or narcotic drugs, Or may not be able to drive a motor vehicle according to law, such as a disease that impedes safe driving of a motor vehicle; (4) Others shall determine that the owner or manager of the motor vehicle is at fault.

Therefore, the law sets the owner of the vehicle or the actual user as a “highly rational person”, and the above-mentioned personnel should exercise due diligence on the behavior or use of the vehicle.

Case:

In the case of Li Mo, Chen, Xia, and other motor vehicle traffic accident liability disputes. The court held that because the owner of the Su EXXX vehicle was arrested by the driver of the vehicle, Mr. Chen was still lending the vehicle to Chen, causing a serious traffic accident caused by one death and two injuries. Therefore, according to the Tort Liability Law Article 49 and the Supreme People's Court's Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Application of Laws in the Trial of Road Traffic Accident Compensation Cases, the defendants Chen and Xia shall bear joint and several liability. In view of the fact that the Su E××××× vehicle handled the third party liability compulsory insurance in the Changshu xx branch of the defendant xx Property Insurance Co., Ltd., the defendant China Pacific Property Insurance Co., Ltd. Changshu Central Branch was in the third party of the motor vehicle. Within the scope of the liability insurance liability limit, the first compensation will be 120,000 yuan... The court finally ruled that the defendant xx Property Insurance Co., Ltd. Changshu xx company compensated the plaintiff Li for the loss caused by the traffic accident of RMB 97,060.84, on the effective date of this judgment. Performed within ten days. The defendant xx Property Insurance Co., Ltd. Changshu xx Branch has the right to recover the defendant Chen and Xia after paying the above compensation.

[Case Source: China Judgment Paper Network. Case No.: (2016) Su 0581, the beginning of the 8520. 】

When a friend borrows a car, how should he prevent risks? First of all, the owner should regularly inspect and maintain the vehicle, especially the brake brakes, lights, tire pressure and other issues; second, the owner should ask and check the driver's driving certificate to prevent its unlicensed driving or not obtained Depending on the driving qualification; in the end, it is often the case that the owner of the vehicle lends the vehicle to others at the dinner table. However, the owner should pay attention to this, remember to keep the vehicle keys properly when drinking alcohol with friends. The owner of the car will also face repeated requests from others. The author especially reminds that in such a situation, the owner can sign a simple vehicle borrowing agreement with the borrower to stipulate the rights and obligations of both parties, which can protect the legitimate rights and interests of the owner.