Permitting No Insurance

Question:

A recovery operator is on a job picking up a driver and his private vehicle, which has gone off the road and hit a tree at 2am in the morning.

On the way back the driver of the crashed vehicle wants his smashed car taken to a workshop in readiness for when it opens at 9am. However, the driver wonders how he will get home without his car. The recovery driver says he has a courtesy car at his base and would let the driver use it. This happens.

The driver is in the courtesy car driving home when he has another accident and crashes the courtesy car into another tree.

Police attend the scene and it turns out this driver has no Driving Licence. Obviously the Police PNC will show the owner of the car is the recovery company.

Will the recovery company owner now be charged with Permitting No Driving Licence or insurance?

Paula Says:

Is that an exam question?

The other driver may have insurance even though he does not have a valid licence. Has his licence been revoked or has he never passed a test?

If the police pursue the driver for no licence and no insurance then yes the recovery operator could be accused of permitting him to drive without insurance – but he will have a defence if he made it a precondition of use that he was insured. What discussions took place at the time in relation to the insurance issue?

I cannot see them pursuing the recovery company owner if he did not play a part in loaning the vehicle.

Do you want to tell me more about what has happened? Has anyone been accused of permitting a no insurance offence?