So what's likely to happen here?

anon_ymous

My dad got a courtesy car, and I decided to sit in it, to get a feel of the car etc.... I didn't actually start the car and I didn't intend to drive it, but the car started rolling forwards.

I pressed the brake pedals. They wouldn't come on. In a slightly related set of affairs, in my own car, the key wouldn't even turn, and the brakes were also stiff, but I managed to put the handbrake on, and the brakes worked after giving some power to the engine.

In my panic, I tried to find the handbrake, but being a new car, it's handbrake is an electronic thing, instead of the old fashioned hand brake. The car rolled forward, in to another vehicle and well the car is very pricey to repair (for both things)

Atm, the people who my dad got the courtesy car haven't gone through the insurers, and the people whom I crashed in to are fine with paying for repairs etc...

But the people who own the courtesy car are essentially using blackmail techniques against my dad ie: instead of going through insurance, they're blackmailing him and saying "Your son would get CCJ's for not paying us" etc...

Just wondering legally, where I stand. At the end of the day, I didn't actually start the car, and if I was going to drive it, I'd have at least made sure that I'd be properly strapped in

EDIT: If it makes any difference, Im not your typical boy racer. Im a geeky student, who has a box monitoring my own car, where I've scored 96/100 so far

HappyMJ

Legally...in a civil court...you were in charge of the car. So you would be have a civil liability to pay for any damage caused whilst you were in charge of the car. Whether you would be covered by insurance would be up to the insurers. By the sounds of it you weren't a named driver.

If you didn't pay what the hire car company is asking for then the hire company could choose to take you to court and you can defend it. If they win they could get a judgement against you and you then have less than 28 days to clear the judgement so it doesn't appear on your credit record.

Nicki

waqasahmed wrote: »

My dad got a courtesy car, and I decided to sit in it, to get a feel of the car etc.... I didn't actually start the car and I didn't intend to drive it, but the car started rolling forwards.

I pressed the brake pedals. They wouldn't come on. In a slightly related set of affairs, in my own car, the key wouldn't even turn, and the brakes were also stiff, but I managed to put the handbrake on, and the brakes worked after giving some power to the engine.

In my panic, I tried to find the handbrake, but being a new car, it's handbrake is an electronic thing, instead of the old fashioned hand brake. The car rolled forward, in to another vehicle and well the car is very pricey to repair (for both things)

Atm, the people who my dad got the courtesy car haven't gone through the insurers, and the people whom I crashed in to are fine with paying for repairs etc...

But the people who own the courtesy car are essentially using blackmail techniques against my dad ie: instead of going through insurance, they're blackmailing him and saying "Your son would get CCJ's for not paying us" etc...

Just wondering legally, where I stand. At the end of the day, I didn't actually start the car, and if I was going to drive it, I'd have at least made sure that I'd be properly strapped in

EDIT: If it makes any difference, Im not your typical boy racer. Im a geeky student, who has a box monitoring my own car, where I've scored 96/100 so far

What does the bit I have emboldened mean?

If you were sitting in the drivers seat, and you had turned the key in the ignition at any point, then you were "driving without insurance" whether you meant to or not, which is a strict liability criminal offence.

The owners of the courtesy car aren't putting it through their insurance because you did not have their permission to drive the car so when the accident happened you were uninsured. Even if they did claim on the insurance, the insurance company can claim the cost back against anyone who was legally liable for causing the damage - which would be you - so you would not be any better off (though more likely to have a criminal record to your name if the insurers are on the case as well as the owners)

anon_ymous

Nicki wrote: »

What does the bit I have emboldened mean?

I got in to my car. I pressed the clutch and the brake. The brake pedal wouldn't move. I thought perhaps it's just a bit stiff. The car moved. I put the handbrake on. I gave some power to the car. The brakes worked.

Nicki wrote: »

If you were sitting in the drivers seat, and you had turned the key in the ignition at any point, then you were "driving without insurance" whether you meant to or not, which is a strict liability criminal offence.

The owners of the courtesy car aren't putting it through their insurance because you did not have their permission to drive the car so when the accident happened you were uninsured. Even if they did claim on the insurance, the insurance company can claim the cost back against anyone who was legally liable for causing the damage - which would be you - so you would not be any better off (though more likely to have a criminal record to your name if the insurers are on the case as well as the owners)

Right thanks for that. It seems odd that say if a young child got in to the car, and it started rolling forwards, the law says they're at fault?

Nicki

You haven't answered the question!

Does I gave some power to the car mean that you switched the engine on? If it does, then that's that.

A young child under the age of criminal responsibility would not be prosecuted for driving without insurance. But the car would still be uninsured if the key was turned in the ignition at any point and the parent would be liable for the damage caused by their failure to supervise the child.

paddedjohn

Nicki wrote: »

What does the bit I have emboldened mean?

If you were sitting in the drivers seat, and you had turned the key in the ignition at any point, then you were "driving without insurance" whether you meant to or not, which is a strict liability criminal offence.

The owners of the courtesy car aren't putting it through their insurance because you did not have their permission to drive the car so when the accident happened you were uninsured. Even if they did claim on the insurance, the insurance company can claim the cost back against anyone who was legally liable for causing the damage - which would be you - so you would not be any better off (though more likely to have a criminal record to your name if the insurers are on the case as well as the owners)

If you read the OP again you will see that they were refering to their own car in the sentence you have hilighted;)

anon_ymous

Nicki wrote: »

You haven't answered the question!

Does I gave some power to the car mean that you switched the engine on? If it does, then that's that.

With my own car, I pressed the acceleration pedal. In my dad's, the engine wasn't actually switched on when it started rolling

Nicki wrote: »

A young child under the age of criminal responsibility would not be prosecuted for driving without insurance. But the car would still be uninsured if the key was turned in the ignition at any point and the parent would be liable for the damage caused by their failure to supervise the child.

Fair enoughs

Nicki

OK - not sure why he mentioned his own car at all then if it wasn't involved in any way in the accident!

So the situation is OP's dad drove the car home and parked it up. OP sat in the drivers seat. Dad hadn't put the handbrake on properly and the car started to roll. OP tried to find a way to stop the car but failed. The keys weren't in the ignition and the engine wasn't turned over at any point during all of this?

If THOSE are the facts, then the accident seems to be the father's fault and not the OP's and as the father was insured, the insurance should pay out. If the handbrake wasn't on properly, the car would have started to roll with any impact (even OP getting into the passengers side before his father got into the drivers seat) so the fact that he was sitting on the right rather than the left hand side should not make any difference to the legal situation.

But if the engine WAS switched on at any point in the whole incident, even with the motivation of trying to engage the brake and stop the car, then the OP is in problems for the reasons stated.

marleyboy

The one sat at the controls, is the one responsible for the accident. The company is not trying to blackmail you in trying to solve the issue outside of any insurance company, who would happily take you to court over it.

It is in your best interests to compensate, as any court in the land can see your not a young child and will treat it as you have committed an offence.

That will not only incur you a heavy fine, a record and points on your licence, (I think its 6 points for an uninsured driver), your own car insurance will hit the roof. Were I in your shoes, I would take the offer of the company and cough up the repair costs.

Avoriaz

How steep is the slope the car was on and how far did it roll before hitting the other car?

It must have picked up some speed to do significant damage.

paddedjohn

If the handbrake is electronic then how can it not be applied when the key is removed and how can it be released without the key?
If your father applied the handbrake then its either on or off, no half measures, and if you didnt release it then it must be faulty.