help.... my son crashed my car!!

simplyblew

hi

i'm a frequent poster on these boards but have temporarily changed id for reasons which will become clear...

my car is currently on my sons driveway ...to enable him to fix and repair when he has time. The car is insured for me, taxed and has an mot, all of which he knows. And that he does not have permission to drive the car.

Unfortunately, for reasons which are not yet clear, he crashed the car yesterday on the drive and said it was due to brake failure.

He has also said that somebody called the police and he has to produce all necessary documents within 7 days.

can anybody suggest the best way to proceed that will both enable me to claim on my insurance and to minimise any legal sanction against my son ...(and possibly me).

(However, as this is not the first time he has taken the car without permission a small punishment may do him some good but obviously i would like to avoid this if poss.)

thanks

Stevenj214

If the car never left the drive, I don't see any prosecution against your son.......?

zzzLazyDaisy

Neither can I. For there to be a prosecution, he has to be on public land. Assuming the driveway is private (and not, for example, a tenfoot that can be legitimately used by other people) then it seems bizarre that he is being asked to produce documents.

Unless, of course, he had moved it onto the road, for some reason, when the accident happened, and you are not getting the full facts?

As far as claiming on your insurance is concerned - he is not an insured driver. So the only way you can claim is to say that he drove it without your consent, that leaves him open, potentially, to a claim for reimbursement by the insurance company against him personally. Also, if it does turn out that he had it on the road, it could leave him open to being prosecuted for 'taking without consent'.

windym_2

Did the car leave the driveway and enter a public road or highway?
Did the vehicle cause damage or injury to a person or property that does not belong to you?

If any provoke a yes reply then this is a reportable road traffic accident.

On the documents side - he must when asked produce documents relating to insurance, mot and drivers licence within 7 days at a nominated police station. This can happen without an accident taking place, but, the vehicle does have to be on a road. In any case, if he has been issued with a form to produce documents he must do so, as there is a separate offence of not producing them.

You need to establish fully how and where the accident happened. If any damage or injury (other than to your son or the car). You also need to establish what happened when the police arrived ie. did they record the accident.
Hope this clarifies.

simplyblew

thanx for those replies,

as you said i need more detail from him.... and i thought it was odd the police were involved on the facts he told me..

i can think of two possibilities...

a) either it crashed into something else on the drive .... although that would have to be him driving it (reasonably ok on driveway even though not insured?)

b) or he was drivin it on the road

if it was the second does that mean i can get no money unless i take him to court?( through my insurance co?)

what about the first case?

am i likely to be liable for anything personally?

zzzLazyDaisy

If he was on the road, in your car, WITH your permission, you are potentially also at risk of prosecution. I can't remember the exact charge, but basically it is aiding and abetting his offence of driving without insurance (am assuming he does have a licence).

So, if you wish to avoid prosecution yourself, and avoid invalidating your insurance, you need to make it clear that he was driving it on the road without your knowledge or consent. Basically you are accusing him of stealing the car (not quite, coz in law 'stealing' means having no intention to return the item .... that is why there is a criminal offence of 'taking without consent' for cars, because theft is so difficult to prove).

I am sorry about this, because it seems that a moment's stupidity by your son could result in you seeming to sell him down the river (from his point of view anyway).

You need to get to the bottom of this. If you are not sure that your son is telling you the whole story, then you might consider phoning/visiting the police station that he has been told to produce his documents at, and explaining that your car was damaged when you left it on your son's drive, and you understand the incident was reported, and ask for details for your insurer. But you would have to be careful not to say anything to the police about what happened until you had the full facts.