When I lend my car to a relative
When I lend my car to a relative
"I want to leave my car with my grandson during my holidays abroad. However, a friend told me that I would still be civilly liable in the event of an accident. Is this true?"
Ani, Versoix
The Road Traffic Act contains a section on the civil liability of the keeper of a motor vehicle in the event of an accident.
The keeper is the person who has effective control over the motor vehicle and uses it for his or her own account. However, the keeper is often not the owner, particularly when a leasing contract is concluded, or the driver when the vehicle is loaned.
When a road accident is caused by a motor vehicle, the owner is liable if the injured party can prove that the owner was at fault or that a defect in the vehicle contributed to the accident.
To make things easier for injured parties, the law also makes the keeper liable, even without fault, if a person is injured or killed or material damage is caused as a result of the use of his or her motor vehicle. The Federal Court considers that a vehicle is in use as soon as the accident is due to the realisation of a specific risk resulting from the mechanical parts of the vehicle.
It should be noted, however, that there are two ways in which the vehicle owner can be released from this "risk" liability.
Firstly, he can prove that the accident was caused by force majeure, i.e. a completely unforeseeable event such as an avalanche or earthquake. On the other hand, the holder cannot rely on icy roads or fog obstructing visibility, as these are considered to be foreseeable events.
Secondly, the keeper may prove that the accident was the result of gross negligence on the part of the injured party or a third party without fault on his part or on the part of the persons for whom he is responsible and without fault on the part of a defective vehicle, it being specified that he is liable for the driver's fault as well as for his own fault.
It follows from the above that if your grandson causes an accident using your vehicle and you are unable to provide the proof described above, you will incur civil liability. It is to protect yourself against the sometimes extremely heavy financial consequences that the law requires you, as the owner of a motor vehicle, to take out civil liability insurance, without which the Motor Vehicle Department will not issue registration plates.
