Legal Responsibility

[tldenman]

State of Michigan

An unlicensed 14 year old borrows a car from a fully licensed 16 year old and then lets another 16 year old (that has only a driver's permitt) drive the borrowed car and they are in an accident that totals the car....the 16 year old owner of the car, who lent the car out wants compensation....are all 3 involved leagally responsible, or just the driver of the car or is the one who borrowed the car resposible?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

This is an absolutely incredible scenario; children allowing children to borrow and drive a "killing machine".

The lender and the driver are responsible. In this type of an instance, the law measures responsibility in "adult terms" because when a child undertakes "adult" responsibilities, such as lending an automobile, and driving an automobile, and causing an accident with an automobile, a child is held to a greater standard of conduct, along with the parents, as is evidenced by the application and parental authority of the Driver's License documents. If the child and the parents had read the application and other documents they signed, they would all realize this.

The 14 year old is probably the only one who'll walk away from this scenario free and clear. This person wasn't driving, and a 14 year old cannot appreciate the necessary duties of borrowing a car and then re-lending it to someone else - - the law of bailments (placing property in the hands of someone else). There's nothing inherently wrong with borrowing a car or other personal property from anyone - - to be re-lent to someone else. The fault lies with what that "someone else" did with the property AFTER obtaining possession of that property. That "someone else" then becomes responsible for damage to property that doesn't belong to him.

IAAL