Responsibility of the vehicle owner in case of an accident

What liability awaits the owner of a vehicle after an accident in 2019?

The culprit of an accident, depending on the causes and consequences, may be brought to both administrative and criminal liability. However, not in all cases only the driver who was driving the car is punished. The responsibility of the vehicle owner in case of an accident plays an important role - punishment can be imposed even if he was not in the car at the time of the accident. The preventive measure will be chosen depending on the degree of guilt.

Who should be held responsible in the event of an accident?

In recent years, the number of vehicles owned by both individuals and legal entities has increased significantly in our country. On the one hand, this trend indicates an improvement in the well-being of citizens, and on the other, it is causing an increase in the number of road traffic accidents (RTA). An accident can occur due to human factors or natural phenomena.

The term road accident means damage to vehicles and cargo; injuries sustained by drivers, passengers and pedestrians caused by a collision; rollover or collision of a vehicle. However, not every mechanical impact on a car that results in its deformation and material damage can be called a traffic accident.

The fact that the owner of the car is absent from the scene of the incident does not relieve him of financial obligations to the victims, with the exception of cases of transfer of the vehicle to other persons for temporary use on legal grounds.

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation directly indicates the obligation of owners of high-risk objects, which include cars, to compensate for damage (property or health) caused by them to citizens. The degree of guilt of the owner of the vehicle and his trusted driver is determined by the court. We will look further into in what cases the owner of the car is responsible, and in what cases the citizen who was driving and caused the accident is responsible.

Driver who is not the owner of the vehicle

Current legislation allows you to transfer control of your car to third parties (relatives, friends, etc.) if their data is indicated in the MTPL policy. The driver can also be a hired driver whose employer is an individual entrepreneur or a legal entity. In most cases, the culprit of the accident is recognized as the one who was driving the car, because the most common causes of road accidents are failure to comply with traffic rules, incorrect assessment of the road situation and driving while intoxicated.

Responsibility for an accident by a driver can be of the following types:

Administrative – occurs if only cars are damaged or minor damage to health is caused. The culprit faces punishment in the form of a fine or deprivation of his driver's license.
Criminal - provided for in the presence of victims with serious injuries or deaths as a result of an accident. In this case, the preventive measure is established by the court in the form of imprisonment, compulsory labor, or a ban on holding certain positions.
Civil – obliges the driver to pay compensation to the injured party for property damage, personal injury or death. In the latter case, the relatives of the deceased receive compensation.

Car owner

The owner of the car may be held liable if he does not prove that the vehicle has ceased to be his property legally (for example, under a lease agreement) or due to illegal actions of third parties.

The owner is obliged to keep the vehicle in good condition, and to involve only drivers with the appropriate category of clearance in driving it.

In the event of an accident, the investigation will take into account the degree of guilt of both the driver and the owner of the car (including the lessee).

Types of liability of the vehicle owner in the event of an accident

Depending on the causes and consequences of the accident on the road, the liability of the vehicle owner can be civil, administrative and even criminal.

Civil law

According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation, civil liability begins at the age of 14. It assumes that the culprit must financially compensate the victim for damage, as well as compensate for harm to health or death. The civil liability of the car owner occurs if:

he was driving at the time of the accident;
is the employer of the person responsible for the accident.

The following reasons may be grounds for his release from liability in case of an accident:

transfer of a vehicle for rent;
the car was provided for temporary use to a third party with its data entered into the MTPL policy;
the fact of car theft has been established;
circumstances of force majeure (natural phenomena, soil failure and other circumstances that cannot be avoided).

Administrative

The owner, if he is not directly driving the car at the time of the accident, may be held administratively liable for the following actions that caused the incident:

Transferring control of a vehicle to a citizen:
- without a driver’s license – 30,000 rubles;
- deprived of a driver's license - 30,000 rubles;
- in a state of intoxication (alcohol or drugs) - 30,000 rubles or deprivation of a driver's license for 1.5 - 2 years.
Admission to perform official duties of a driver who has not passed a pre-trip medical examination - a fine of 5,000 rubles is imposed on officials and 30,000 rubles on the enterprise.
Releasing a car with faults on the line means imposing a fine on officials of the enterprise in the amount of 5,000-8,000 rubles.

If an accident with serious consequences for health or death occurred as a result of non-compliance with traffic rules, a criminal case is opened under Article 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. However, it is used only to select a preventive measure for the person who was directly driving the car at the time of the accident. Thus, the criminal liability of the car owner is excluded if he was not driving at the time of the accident and the investigation did not reveal another crime in his actions.

Joint and several civil liability

Sometimes, not two, but several cars are involved in road accidents. In this case, the investigation may reveal more than one culprit. In this case, according to Article No. 1079 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, joint liability arises when the court distributes the amount of compensation to the victims among all the perpetrators. Of course, the degree of guilt of each of them is taken into account. This practice is also used when collecting compensation from the driver who caused the accident and the owner of the car, if the latter’s guilt is proven.

About compensation for damage in case of an accident

The obligation to compensate for property damage and injury to health resulting from a car accident can be assigned not only to the direct culprit of the accident, but also to an individual or legal entity that owns the vehicle on the basis of ownership, lease and other legal grounds.

Who is obliged to pay compensation

According to Article No. 1079 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the owner of the vehicle is obliged to compensate for material damage to the victims, as well as harm caused to health, with the exception of the cases listed above.
Since 2012, a car can be transferred for temporary use to an individual without a power of attorney when entering its data into the MTPL policy. If this condition is met, the car is considered to have left the owner’s possession, so all responsibility for the accident to the victims will be assigned to the driver.
Guided by Article No. 1083 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the court can completely release the owner of the car from liability if during the investigation it is proven that the accident occurred as a result of the intentional actions of the victim. For example, a pedestrian threw himself under a car with the intention of committing suicide. If the accident occurred due to the negligence of the victim, the amount of compensation by court decision is reduced. When determining the amount of compensation, the financial capabilities of the car owner are taken into account.
According to Article No. 1068 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the employer must compensate for the damage to the victim if an accident occurred on his vehicle and the driver was driving while performing his direct official duties.
The owner of the vehicle, who has paid compensation to the victims in accordance with Article No. 1081 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, has the right to demand compensation for his losses from the driver responsible for the accident.
If the fact of car theft has been proven, responsibility for the accident is removed from its owner. In this case, compensation for damage falls on those who took possession of the car in an unlawful manner.

Is it possible to recover compensation simultaneously from the culprit of the accident and the owner of the car?

As mentioned above, if an accident was caused by a driver who was performing his professional duties at that moment, the obligation to pay compensation to victims (both in the case of property damage and personal injury) falls entirely on his employer. Therefore, in this case, payment must be demanded from the individual entrepreneur or the enterprise to which the car is registered. Whether the employer will then demand compensation from his employee for the losses incurred should not concern the victims.

If the owner of the vehicle is not the employer of the culprit, the person who was driving at the time of the accident must compensate for the damage.

In order to recover compensation for damage from the owner of the car, it is necessary to prove his guilt. For example, he transferred control of the vehicle to a person who does not have a driver’s license or is intoxicated.

Compensation under OSAGO

According to current legislation, the operation of vehicles without registration of compulsory motor liability insurance is not allowed. The details of the driver driving the car must be included in the policy. If these conditions are met, compensation will be paid to victims through insurance.

Not only property damage is compensated, but also damage to health or death. However, the insured amount is limited, so victims and relatives of those killed in an accident have the right to legally demand additional payments from the culprit of the accident.

Conclusion

In order not to pay compensation to victims of an accident committed by another person, you need to trust your car only to trusted people. This point must be documented by entering the driver’s data into the MTPL policy or concluding a rental agreement. You should also refrain from selling a car under a general power of attorney.

Recovery of damages from the culprit of an accident: Video

Candidate of Legal Sciences. Advocate. Legal practical experience – 7 years. Specializations: Automotive law, tax law, loans and lending, compensation for damage.

Responsibility of the vehicle owner in case of an accident

The content of the article

A road traffic accident (RTA) is an act that has signs of an offense/crime, committed with the participation of vehicles, due to which harm was caused to the life and health of the victims and (or) material damage was caused to the property of the participants in the incident.

Criminal liability of the vehicle owner in case of an accident

For causing serious harm to health or death of a person while driving a vehicle, the current criminal legislation provides for a set of measures to influence the perpetrator of the incident. Crimes in the field of violation of traffic rules and operation of vehicles are provided for in Art. 264 and art. 264.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Based on Art. 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, in relation to crimes related to vehicles, aggravating (aggravating the situation of the guilty person) circumstances are:

driving a vehicle while drunk;
The accident resulted in the death of two or more people;
The culprit had previously violated traffic rules and was given an administrative penalty.

If the act was committed intentionally, the crime will be classified as murder (Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) or as intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm (Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), depending on the nature of the consequences. Criminal prosecution in case of a traffic accident is provided for the driver, and not the owner of the car, if these are different persons. According to the principle of guilt (Article 5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the subject of the crime is exclusively the person who actually drove the vehicle and committed, for example, a collision with a pedestrian, even if the culprit of the accident is not the owner of the vehicle. A legal entity cannot act as a subject of a socially dangerous act.

Administrative liability of the vehicle owner in case of an accident

In the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, a separate chapter 12 is devoted to traffic violations and participation in road accidents. The objective side of the offense is the infliction of light or moderate harm to health (Article 12.24 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). The short-term health disorder, long-term health disorder that is not life-threatening, as the degree of harm caused, is established on the basis of a medical examination.

According to the general norms of administrative legislation, sanctions for a road traffic accident are borne by the person in respect of whom his guilt is proven (Article 1.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). The driver of the car will be found guilty, because it was he who was driving the vehicle and because of his actions/inaction, consequences occurred.

The owner will automatically incur administrative punishment in accordance with the provisions of Art. 2.6.1. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, if the incident was recorded using automatic photo and video recording. Exception: in the event of an accident, in the event of an appeal against a decision to commit an administrative offense, the owner can present sufficient and relevant evidence that another person was driving the vehicle, which the court will take into account. It is a mistaken opinion that it is enough to present a car purchase and sale agreement in court to prove the owner’s non-involvement in an offense recorded automatically. It is worth remembering that the purchase and sale agreement is not evidence of a change in the owner of the vehicle unless re-registration has been carried out with the traffic police departments. If you sold the car, but within 10 days established by law, the new owner did not submit documents for registration, the responsibility for removing it from it passes to you.

Administrative legislation does not provide for punishment in relation to a legal entity (organization) when committing a traffic accident.

Civil liability of the vehicle owner in case of an accident

Civil liability is expressed in the form of compensation for material and moral damage incurred as a result of an accident in relation to the victim. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation classifies the use of a car as an activity that creates an increased danger to others (Article 1079 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The owner of the vehicle is obliged to compensate for the damage caused unless he proves the existence of circumstances that exclude his liability. Civil liability is also provided for a legal entity if it legally owns a source of increased danger that took part in an accident.

A feature of this rule is that the owner can be recognized as a subject of legal relations who legally owns a car, including the right to rent, the presence of a power of attorney or by virtue of an order to drive the vehicle. Thus, the legal owner at the time of the incident may be recognized as a person other than the person indicated in the vehicle passport (not the owner).

Age of civil liability in a road accident

Civil liability begins at the age of 14. If harm is caused by a minor under 14 years of age, his legal representatives, first of all, his parents, must bear responsibility for it (Article 1073 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). From the age of 14, a minor is liable for damages on a general basis (Article 1074 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The exception is the lack of income or property necessary to compensate for the harm. In this case, liability rests with the legal representatives. The basis for releasing legal representatives from liability is evidence of the absence of their guilt in committing such an offense.

In what cases is the owner of a vehicle exempt from civil liability?

The owner is released from the obligation to compensate for damage in cases expressly specified in Art. 1079 Civil Code of the Russian Federation:

force majeure - force majeure - the presence of extraordinary and inevitable circumstances. In fact, the presence of force majeure circumstances terminates the legal relationship;
the intent of the victim is the unlawful behavior of the victim, who foresees and allows the occurrence of circumstances unfavorable for him;
the vehicle left the owner’s possession before the consequences of the accident occurred (the car was stolen) - the owner must prove that the vehicle left the owner’s possession without his fault.

Joint and several liability of the culprit of the accident and the owner of the car

The joint liability of the culprit and the owner arising as a result of an accident is an atypical version of the civil liability of a group of persons in the classical interpretation. In the usual understanding, solidarity in liability gives the party who suffered damage the right to choose who to sue: one of the participants or all of them at the same time.

The norm of Article 1079 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation directly indicates the primary fault of the driver of the vehicle at the time of the accident. The exception is the situation when the source of increased danger has left the owner’s possession if he is at fault. If guilt is proven, the owner will be held jointly liable, that is, it will depend on the degree of his guilt.

The classic version of joint liability occurs in the event of an accident involving several vehicles, the owners of which will bear group liability (clause 3 of Article 1079 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

In the event that the culprit of the accident died, when a minor was driving, when the car’s tenant or an employee of the organization was driving, if the driver fled the scene of the accident, joint and several liability in relation to the owner will only occur if the court finds him guilty.

Who pays for damages in case of an accident?

Norm Art. 1079 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for an imperative choice between persons who bear civil liability for harm caused by a source of increased danger:

compensation for damage in case of an accident from the owner on the right of ownership: if he was the one driving the vehicle or partially if there was a fault in allowing a third party to drive it.
from the driver - owner on the right of economic management or other property right: if he was the one driving the vehicle.
from the driver - a person using the vehicle legally at the time of the accident, the list of which by virtue of Art. 1079 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is not exhaustive.

In addition to the owner and driver, the victim has the right to request compensation within the framework of the Federal Law “On Compulsory Civil Liability Insurance of Vehicle Owners” dated April 25, 2002 No. 40-FZ, if the driver was included in the OSAGO policy. This law provides for the option of direct appeal of the victim to the insurer in accordance with Article 14.1 of the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance. The absence of the guilty party in the insurance policy allows us to draw a conclusion only about possible unlawful use of transport. The guilt of the owner and the share to be compensated will be determined by the court.

Thus, it is necessary to note once again that the general basis for collecting damages from the owner is the presence of guilt. When distributing responsibility, judicial practice is based on the principle of guilt, first of all, of the driver who was driving the car at the time of the accident. If the court finds that the owner assumed and allowed the possession of the car without legal grounds for this, the owner will compensate for damages in proportion to his fault.

How to recover damages from the driver and the owner at the same time in an accident?

It is necessary to prove the owner’s guilt, provide evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship between the actions of the driver and the owner (knew/assumed/allowed). The liability of the car owner in an accident is limited only by the degree of his guilt.

If you have difficulties in connection with an accident and you do not know how to apply for insurance compensation, or you are concerned about the question “can the at-fault driver be held financially or otherwise liable?”, contact our specialists by filling out the feedback form, and we will We will contact you as soon as possible.

ATTENTION! Due to recent changes in legislation, the information in this article may be out of date! Our lawyer will advise you free of charge.

Responsibility of the car owner in case of an accident committed by another person

Road traffic accidents always pose a serious challenge to the driver’s nervous system. But what to do if a car that is owned by another person is involved in an accident? Who is responsible for what happened and what could be the consequences for the vehicle owner?

When does the owner of a car become liable in an accident?

Who is responsible for the accident? If the person driving the car at the time of the accident is also its owner, then the conclusion is obvious. The owner (aka the person who was driving the car at the time of the accident) will be found to be at fault. In this case, the owner (aka driver) is responsible for his actions in accordance with the administrative, civil or criminal code, depending on the consequences of the accident.

But a situation often arises in which a relative, colleague, friend or just an acquaintance is driving the vehicle. Who will be held responsible for the act committed in this case? The legislative framework of the Russian Federation states that responsibility falls on the person who was driving at the time of the accident and was driving it legally (power of attorney, presence of the driver’s name in the MTPL policy, rental right, etc.). In this case, the owner is not responsible for the consequences of the accident and the damage caused.

Administrative liability of the owner in case of an accident occurs when control is transferred to a person who is intoxicated, and amounts to 30,000 rubles and deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle for the owner for a period of 1.5 to 2 years (Administrative Code 12.8 Part 2). If the driver has not received a driver’s license or has been deprived of a driver’s license, then the fine for the owner of the car in this case will be 30,000 rubles in accordance with Article 12.7 of the Administrative Code.

When does a driver of a car become liable under a power of attorney in an accident?

When an accident occurs, liability (criminal or administrative) falls on the person driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. It must be included in the MTPL policy.

The situation when a driver drives a vehicle by proxy deserves special attention. A notarized document is not a prerequisite for driving someone else's car.

Currently, you can entrust the right to drive a vehicle without drawing up a power of attorney and having it certified by a notary. Therefore, most owners prefer to avoid unnecessary complications. The consequences of an accident for the car driver arise in this case:

The recovery of compensation for moral damage, funds to pay for treatment or reimbursement of expenses for restoring a car (if insurance payments do not cover the cost of restoration or repair work) can be carried out in court from the owner of the vehicle (Civil Code Article 1079). If the owner prudently issued a notarized power of attorney, entered the driver into the MTPL policy or entered into a rental agreement with him, then the driver driving the car in an accident will bear civil liability for the damage caused.

Joint and several liability in case of an accident of the owner and driver

Joint and several liability of the owner and driver is quite rare. It can arise if the damage from an accident exceeds the maximum payments of the insurance company. And the driver does not have property from which full payments can be made to the injured party.

The injured party has the right to choose when making claims for damages. Claims can be made against one or several persons. Judicial practice in this matter is quite extensive and when making a decision, the judge takes into account many nuances of what happened.

Responsibility table

The degree of responsibility of the committed act is directly related to the severity of the consequences arising from the accident:

responsibility

Based on the above regulations, the court considers each specific case and makes a decision on the degree of responsibility and type of punishment for the culprit of the accident.

Criminal liability of the car owner in case of a road accident committed by another person

In case of serious bodily harm or in the event of death of a victim in an accident, on the basis of Articles 264 and 268 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the person who committed this act intentionally or without malicious intent is considered guilty. In any case, the owner of the vehicle cannot be found guilty (even if he was in the car, but was not driving), since the act was committed by the driver who was driving the car.

Administrative liability of the car owner in case of an accident committed by another person

The legislative framework states that the owner of a car may incur administrative penalties if another person caused a road accident. The owner is liable if he:

Entrusted control to a person under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Transferred the right to drive a vehicle to a person who does not have a driver’s license or does not have a driver’s license with him.
I entrusted the control of the vehicle to a person, and when an accident occurred, the culprit fled the scene of the crime. But the accident was recorded using modern photo and video recording equipment (traffic cameras) Code of Administrative Offenses 2.6.1.

In the event of an accident, the owner whose car was stolen from the parking lot does not receive an administrative penalty. The only condition is a timely official statement of theft, properly completed.

Civil liability of the vehicle owner as a result of a road accident committed by another person

Under civil liability, the law means payments to the victim related to reimbursement of treatment costs, compensation for moral damage or costs of restoring damaged property. As a result of the trial, compensation for damage is assigned to the owner of the vehicle.

There are a number of exceptions in which the owner of the vehicle (if he was not driving at the time of the accident) is exempt from civil liability:

The car was stolen at the time of the accident and the owner officially reported this to the police.
The victim acted intentionally, which was revealed as a result of investigative actions.
The victim acted carelessly. In this case, the judge can significantly reduce the amount of payments.
The vehicle was driven by a person who has the right to drive a car on the basis of a notarized power of attorney.

But the last point has one very significant limitation. If the owner was present in the car, then it will not be possible to avoid civil liability. The court recognizes that the car was at its disposal and all payments fall on the shoulders of the owner.

Who is obliged to compensate for the damage, the owner or the driver?

According to the legislative framework of the Russian Federation, compensation for damage resulting from an accident is assigned to the owner of the vehicle, except in cases where:

The vehicle was stolen at the time of the accident and the owner left an official statement at the police station.
The driver was a person who had a notarized power of attorney to drive the vehicle. Or another document confirming the transfer of the car for temporary use (for example, a rental agreement).

In these cases, it is not the owner who will have to compensate for the damage, but the person driving the vehicle.

Recovery of accident damage from the driver by the owner

There are often situations when an employee at an enterprise can take a company car not only to perform his immediate duties or travel on company business, but also after the end of the working day. The consent of management gives the right to use a corporate car for personal purposes, for example, to get to work. And if the driver gets into an accident, the owner can recover damages from him. In what cases and what should you do so as not to violate current legislation?

If a traffic accident occurred during working hours or the employee was traveling on company business (i.e., performing a work assignment), then an internal investigation must be conducted. Its results will help to assess the degree of guilt of the driver, as well as compliance with the work and rest regime while driving the vehicle. Based on the data obtained, if the employee is clearly at fault, the company can recover damages from him, which represents a decrease in the company’s personal property or a deterioration in its condition. In other words, the employee must compensate for car repairs.

If the amount of payments for the injured party turns out to be more than the amount of insurance, then the owner of the car (in this case, the employer), by a court decision, is obliged to compensate the missing amount, including compensation for moral damage and treatment costs. However, if the employee’s guilt is proven, the employer may demand compensation for damages, which will be either a one-time payment (by agreement of the parties), or the company will deduct a certain amount from the employee’s salary.

If the driver and the owner do not have an employment relationship and it is not possible to resolve the problem with compensation for damage voluntarily, then the only option is to go to court. The help of a qualified lawyer, a well-drafted statement of claim and examination will allow the car owner to compensate for the damage at the expense of the driver.

Is it possible to appeal a decision on compensation for damages?

After the court makes a decision on damages, both parties can appeal the verdict. According to the law of the Russian Federation, the injured party, who considers the decision insufficiently complete, also has the right to this. And the culprit of the accident, who has reason to think that not only his actions resulted in an emergency situation on the road.

Step-by-step instructions for appealing

If, as a result of a court decision, the car owner does not agree with the verdict, then it can be appealed. To appeal a court decision on the liability of the car owner in an accident, you must:

Request information about what specific examinations were carried out. Depending on the situation on the road that provoked the accident, it may be necessary to conduct an automotive technical examination, a transport and trace analysis, a technical check of the vehicle’s condition, and an auto sales inspection. Each of the above examinations allows us to establish the nuances of what happened.
Conduct an independent examination. Its results will help identify inaccuracies or errors resulting from human factors.
Provide official documents confirming the fact that the car was transferred to the driver on the basis of a power of attorney, rental agreement, was stolen, etc. The presence of such papers provides grounds for reviewing the case and changing the court decision on the owner’s liability.
Seek help from lawyers who have experience in appealing court decisions in this area. A professional will help you competently draw up a claim and provide assistance.

When filing an appeal, it is important to provide the following information:

Personal data of the applicant (full name, address and contact telephone number);
Details, address and name of the court that made the first decision;
Date, series, number of the decision made with which the car owner does not agree;
State the facts and attach documents confirming the erroneous verdict;
Clearly formulate the request (it may consist of reducing the amount of payments, removing responsibility for the accident, etc.);

It is important to understand that an appeal against a court decision on the liability of the owner of a car in an accident should be filed to a higher court. The court's decision, in this case, will be binding on each participant in the accident.

When an employer tries to obtain compensation for damages from an accident at the expense of an employee, remember:

If the employee is not found to be at fault for an accident resulting in damage to company property, then the driver is exempt from paying compensation to the employer.
If the accident occurred as a result of force majeure circumstances, then the employee also does not have to compensate the company for the cost of material damage. Article 239 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

An equally important nuance is that the employee bears financial responsibility to the employer in the amount of his average monthly earnings.

What responsibility does the car owner bear in case of an accident?

Every year, the laws of the Russian Federation provide for changes to the Traffic Rules, and also introduce new fines. This is due to the improvement of car characteristics and the rapid growth in the number of car enthusiasts. An important role in traffic rules began to be assigned to the responsibility of the car owner in the event of an accident. The owner of a vehicle may be liable in an accident even if he was not the driver of the vehicle at the time of the accident. Let's figure out in what cases the owner may be subject to foreclosure.

Driver's responsibility

In most cases, the culprit of the offense is the person who was driving the car at the time of the accident.

The driver can be brought to different types of liability, from administrative to criminal. This directly depends on the exact nature of the illegal actions.

The causes and consequences of the accident determine the type of punishment. Violations of traffic rules are fraught with administrative penalties. In case of accidents without causing harm to the health of other people, the driver may be subject to financial penalties to compensate for the harm caused to other road users. In this situation, articles of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation apply.

If there are victims in an accident, the court may order an arrest or deprivation of a driver's license for a certain period. In the most difficult cases, criminal penalties are provided.

Much in traffic accidents depends on the behavior of the driver. For example, leaving the scene of an accident can incur additional sanctions.

Responsibility of the vehicle owner

As judicial practice shows, not in all cases of car accidents the driver is the one who, according to documents, owns the car. Often, owners entrust the driving of their cars to friends or family members. Although the obligations of the driver and the owner are different, the latter in certain situations may be punished for the accident.

In judicial practice, the liability of the owner of a vehicle in an accident is not a very common case, however, he can expect the following types of liability:

Criminal liability

If an accident results in serious harm to a person’s health or death, according to Articles 264 and 268 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the culprit must be prosecuted. In this case, the accident is regarded as a crime that the driver could have committed intentionally or accidentally.

Of course, if the owner was not driving the vehicle at the time of the incident, criminal liability for the accident will not fall on him, since his intent in this case is absent. Even if the owner was in the car at that moment, he cannot have anything to do with the crime, since he is not to blame for the accident (fault is the main component of the crime).

Administrative punishment

If criminal liability does not affect the car owner in an accident, then he may be subject to administrative punishment, even if the car was driven by another person. However, no one simply imposes penalties on the owner of the car: this requires establishing guilt.

There is a wide list of rules, violation of which may result in administrative sanctions. For example, if the car owner transferred control of the car to a person who does not have a driver’s license or has not received a license at all.

The owner can also be punished if he allows a person under the influence of alcohol or drugs to drive the car.

Administrative penalties await the owner of the vehicle even when the offense is recorded only with the help of traffic cameras. So, if the driver provoked an accident, but fled the scene, responsibility will fall on the owner.

There are exceptions to this rule. Those owners whose car was stolen are not subject to administrative penalties. It is important that the fact of car theft be documented by contacting the police department.

Civil responsibility

Civil liability involves compensation for damage caused to another person or vehicle during an accident. The recovery may consist of reimbursement of expenses in connection with hospital treatment or in connection with car repairs. Often the culprit also has to compensate for moral damages. Responsibility, according to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 1079), rests with the owner of the vehicle.

This rule has exceptions. So, if the owner at the time of the traffic accident was not the actual owner of the car due to theft, he cannot in any way be brought to such punishment. There will be no punishment for the owner even if the investigation proves that the victim acted intentionally in order to gain a benefit. This circumstance is the basis for the court to relieve the owner of the obligation to compensate for damage. In addition, the judge may reduce the amount of payments. A reduction in the amount of compensation is possible if the victim acted carelessly.

Civil liability for the owner of the car will not occur if the driver was a person who has legal grounds to drive the vehicle (power of attorney). The driver will be responsible for the incident. But if the owner of the car was in the car at that time, it is considered that the vehicle was in his possession. Therefore, penalties will still affect him.

It is important to remember that the owner of the car has the right in court to recover from the person at fault and the driver of the car the amount they paid for the civil violation.

In this case, collection occurs in the reverse order.

Payments under OSAGO

Those who are at fault in a traffic accident are not entitled to compensation for losses under compulsory motor liability insurance. This type of insurance implies financial payments exclusively to the injured party. You should not expect compensation if the car was driven by a person who is not included in the vehicle insurance policy. OSAGO does not provide for payments for compensation for moral damage or losses caused by uninsured dangerous cargo.

There are situations when a company pays losses to victims, but demands that the funds be returned. This applies to cases where the driver was driving a car without a license or was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Driver's actions after an accident. What to do and in what order?: Video

The owner of the car has nothing to do with it

It must be said that quite often victims of road accidents try to recover damages not from the culprit of the accident, but from the owner of the vehicle. However, as the Supreme Court explains, this is illegal. The driver can cause an accident and flee the scene with or without a car.

However, this does not mean that the owner of the car who transferred the car by proxy should be responsible for his actions.

The owner of the car is responsible only for violations that are detected by photo-video recording cameras operating in automatic mode, unless he can prove that he was not driving the car. But this is the only exception to the rule.

So, a certain Borisov V.M. hit a pedestrian crossing the road, a certain Pilyugin A.N. Pilyugin later died in hospital from injuries received as a result of the collision. The MTPL insurance company paid the relatives of the deceased funeral expenses in the amount of 25 thousand rubles.

The relatives of the deceased went to court to fully reimburse funeral expenses, as well as moral damages - almost 120 thousand rubles in total. But the lawsuit was filed not against Borisov, who was driving the car, but against the owner of this car, a certain M.S. Klepikova. An insurance company was brought in as a third party and paid the relatives only 25 thousand.

The Soviet District Court of Orel rejected this claim on the fair grounds that the one who caused it should compensate for the damage. However, the plaintiffs were persistent. For some unknown reason, they refused to change the defendant in the lawsuit and filed an appeal with the Oryol Regional Court. There, their demands were satisfied and the owner of the car was required to partially compensate for the damage caused.

However, the owner, Klepikova, did not agree with this decision and appealed it to the Supreme Court of Russia.

After checking the case materials, the Civil Cases Collegium of the RF Armed Forces came to the conclusion that the driver, Borisov, was driving the car legally. Klepikova handed over the keys and documents to him voluntarily. In addition, he was included in the OSAGO policy.

According to traffic rules, the driver is not required to have a power of attorney from the owner. The right of ownership is confirmed by the MTPL policy in which this driver is included.

According to paragraph 1 of Article 1079 of the Civil Code, the obligation to compensate for damage is assigned to a civilian who owns a source of increased danger, based on the right of ownership, the right of operational management or other legal grounds. That is, the person who was driving at the time of the accident should be held responsible for the accident.

Therefore, the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the appellate instance and considered the decision of the first instance court legal and fair.

It is noteworthy that in the story that the Supreme Court was currently considering, the relatives of the deceased, according to the law on compulsory motor liability insurance, can count on compensation in the amount of 475 thousand rubles from the insurer of the person responsible for the accident. Plus 25 thousand are truly legal funeral expenses.

If the relatives of the deceased had involved the insurance company not as a third party, but as a co-defendant, then they could count on receiving this entire amount, which is almost three times the damage they claimed. In the end, they only received legal costs.

Now, in order to receive all the necessary compensation, the relatives of the deceased again need to file a lawsuit. But already on the direct culprit of the accident - the causer of harm. And bring the insurance company into the case as a co-defendant. It is also necessary to ask the court to determine who should pay compensation.