No licence, driving anyway.

[Marvib]

Ok, so Wednesday night is my night out with friends. Generally we have a different designated driver and last night driving home the driver (40ish family man) stated "I never bothered getting a licence as my wife generally drives". He also said he was insured so if he hit anyone they would get paid out anyway. I asked him to stop and had a lovely 3 mile walk

So, a couple of questions

Should I actually do anything (apart from not accepting lifts)?
Is he correct re 3rd parties?

[TREMAiNE]

If he has a provisional license, then he could be insured - though would always be insured with X years driving.

If he has no license whatsoever then I imagine he is either lying or extremely misinformed.

Good on you for getting out the car!

I'd probably speak to him and his wife at the end of the day she is going to lose out big time if he has a prang!

[TwigtheWonderkid]

If he'd held a licence in the past but now no longer held one, but wasn't excluded from holding one, he would be insured. If he's never held a licence, then he wouldn't be insured.

[SS2.]

Marvib said:

Is he correct re 3rd parties?

Depends on the wording of any policy he was driving under and whether his circumstances satisfied its requirements.

[Eclassy]

If he has taken out insured then a 3rd party will/must be payed in the event of an accident where he is at fault.

However, the insurers will be within their rights to recover costs from him if he was driving not in accordance to the insurance conditions.

[anonymous-user]

If you read about some chav from some grotbag estate doing this, you might well be outraged. My suggestion: if the guy was serious and not joshing you, then report the crim (for such he is) to the police. He needs to learn that selfish do what your likey behaviour is not cost free.

[Pip1968]

Surely his insurers must have asked if he had a licence even if he is just down as an additional driver. If he only has a provisional he should then have 'L' plates should he not - ?

I would ask him a few more questions and perhaps point out the error of his ways if there are indeed any.

Pip

[vanordinaire]

If you (with a full licence) were sitting alongside him, could you be unknowingly 'supervising' him and therefore liable too?

[anonymous-user]

No.

[LoonR1]

No he's not insured. The insurers may indemnify the innocent driver against any damage / injury he causes but that won't get him out of a world of st with the police and courts. The insurer may be able to avoid all payments but most likely is that they'll pay and maybe attempt to recover.

My view is to report him. Plenty of outrage on here about uninsured drivers and he's one of them.

[anonymous-user]

This.

[Stoofa]

vanordinaire said:

If you (with a full licence) were sitting alongside him, could you be unknowingly 'supervising' him and therefore liable too?

Potentially even worse - if the supervising driver was over the alcohol limit for driving.

[JQ]

On the basis that you couldn't tell he didn't have a licence, ie., he wasn't bouncing it off the limiter at every change or swerving onto the wrong side of the road at every corner, with what I assume is 20 years experience behind a wheel, why wouldn't he just go and get a licence? Seems totally bizarre to me. I realise we all have bad habits but with a bit of basic research into what he "should" be doing I'd have thought it would be quite easy to get a licence.

[LoonR1]

Stoofa said:

Potentially even worse - if the supervising driver was over the alcohol limit for driving.

Except he's not supervising as has been pointed out already by a barrister. Not to worry though, let's carry on discussing the non existent issue

[agtlaw]

LoonR1 said:

Except he's not supervising as has been pointed out already by a barrister. Not to worry though, let's carry on discussing the non existent issue

Welcome to SP+L.

[vanordinaire]

LoonR1 said:

Stoofa said:

Potentially even worse - if the supervising driver was over the alcohol limit for driving.

Except he's not supervising as has been pointed out already by a barrister. Not to worry though, let's carry on discussing the non existent issue

Please excuse my ignorance, this is a genuine question. Would it be a reasonable defence then for anyone charged with a 'supervising offence' to claim that they hadn't been aware that the driver didn't have a full licence and that therefore they weren't supervising?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

vanordinaire said:

Please excuse my ignorance, this is a genuine question. Would it be a reasonable defence then for anyone charged with a 'supervising offence' to claim that they hadn't been aware that the driver didn't have a full licence and that therefore they weren't supervising?

Yes. Or else you could find yourself in trouble every time you book a minicab or get a lift, unless you do a licence check first!

[Marvib]

LoonR1 said:

Stoofa said:

Potentially even worse - if the supervising driver was over the alcohol limit for driving.

Except he's not supervising as has been pointed out already by a barrister. Not to worry though, let's carry on discussing the non existent issue

This was the main reason I got out the car, I was over the limit and in the passenger seat. The conversation started with me asking if he was giving someone lessons as the car had L plates which was when he stated he didn't have a licence and they were for him

I certainly don't want a drunk in charge case to defend so unsure on the law I walked home.

Is it still a non existent point after I'm aware of his licence status?

[98elise]

In my younger days a mate didn't have a licence, and he could drive perfectly well (and drove regularly). I couldn't believe he didn't just do the test! We didn't even have a theory test back then.

[Zeeky]

The prosecution would need to prove that, through your actions and position, you were, as a matter of fact, supervising the learner. There is a possible risk of aiding and abetting the driver with committing the offence of driving without supervision. To avoid any hassle for yourself, it is sensible to avoid sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle with a learner driver unless you are supervising.