Owners and drivers
People sometimes drive cars they do not own.
If a person is at fault in an accident while they are driving a car they don't own, the owner and driver might both be responsible for the accident.
An owner can be liable if the driver was an 'agent' of the owner. This is sometimes called 'vicarious liability'.
A person may be an agent of the owner, if the owner:
- asks the driver to drive their car for the owner's purpose
- has some control over how the driver uses their car.
You should get legal advice if you:
- were involved in an accident where the other driver was not the owner of the car and you want to recover the cost of repairs to your vehicle
- were driving someone else's car and you caused an accident, as you may not be the only person responsible for paying for the damage to the other car
- lent your car to someone who then caused an accident, as you may be responsible for paying for the damage to the other car (depending on the circumstances).
Case study - Vera and Steve
Vera asked her son Steve, to drive her car to the post office and pick up some parcels for her. On the way there, Steve was involved in an accident when he failed to stop in time and hit the back of Gareth's car.
Gareth decides to make a claim against Steve as the driver and against Vera as the owner.
Vera made a claim on her insurer and Gareth was paid for the damage to his car.