Permitting French Cousin To Drive Without Insurance

Question:

My French cousin came over and borrowed our car and was caught doing 41 in a 30 zone. He said he had insurance but police intend to prosecute anyway.

I can’t get hold of the cousin so can’t prove he did have insurance and since my car was not insured for 3rd parties do I have to carry the can?

Paula Says:

I’m afraid that the police did not believe you that your French cousin was driving at the time. They hear similar stories on a regular basis and never believe it when people say that someone living abroad was driving their car at the time of the alleged offence.

They think its just an attempt to avoid the penalty points. Have you got any points already? If so, how many? Are you a new driver?

When you named your cousin as the driver did he/she write back to the police confirming that they were driving. Why can’t you get hold of your cousin?

The police view is that you have to show that anyone you allowed to drive your car was insured. I do not share this view but it is a difficult legal argument and we are meeting resistance at court in this regard. We are going to need to test this area of law at the high court at some stage in the future.

You are at risk of 6-8 points for this offence. You can defend it if you did not give permission or if you can show that he was insured. You might be able to argue that the burden is not on you to prove that he was insured. That’s my view on the law but recent cases we have dealt with suggest that you may struggle.