Friend drove my car whilst on a ban

[user3837264]

Hello, I really need some advice. I have name changed for this for obvious reasons.

A few days ago I had a few drinks at the pub so my friend offered to drive us home in my car as I was over the limit. Great, I thought.

Turns out he's got a speeding fine in my car. 62 in a 50. The letter arrived today and I have to name the driver.

I mentioned it to him today as there is photographic evidence of him driving. He is male I am female btw.

He has informed me he has no insurance and is on a ban.

I had no idea.

He is telling me to use a random man's name and say I met him in the pub so I don't know his address.

I'm worried and I don't know what to do. He could face prison as this isn't his first offence/he is on tag (again, I didn't know this at the time)

Please don't flame me, I am so worried and don't know what to do for the best.

Shall I just say it was me and hope they don't check the camera evidence? I will take the points and fine to make this all go away.

I know I've been very stupid. I just didn't want to risk drink/driving.

TIA xxx

I’d agree with this. It’s on every comprehensive policy I’ve ever had with the exception of specialist insurance for a camper van and then it was specifically excluded.

Fill in their details and send it off, after that it’s up to them what they do. They might ignore it and be prosecuted for failing to name the driver which carries 6 points and a fine. If they confirm that they were driving you could potentially be prosecuted for driving without insurance too as you were in the vehicle.

For god's sake, he has been convicted and banned from driving by a court who have decided he must not drive on public roads and he is uninsured. He volunteered to drive knowing the full facts. He clearly hasn't learned any kind of lesson. Why would you protect him?

Be honest.

You are not responsible for the choices he makes. He is responsible for his choices and their consequences. His problem, not yours.

The consequences to you of being dishonest will be your responsibility, your problem.

Tell the truth. This is clearly one of a string of offences and your friend will be caught out soon anyway. You can't protect him by risking trouble for yourself. He's irresponsible and should not be on the roads

Should not be out full stop

Another potential candidate for a secure hospital place

Sorry I meant if she did 'take the points' the fact that it was two people planning together.

Sorry OP I didn't mean to scare you but still DO NOT DO IT.

What an absolute mess! Your first mistake was having a few drinks when you had drove. Did you not think about getting home before you started drinking? I think you should tell the truth, you say you didn’t know friends situation but your friend did know what he was risking. You’re both at fault, if a friend offered to drive my car my first thought would be your not insured in my car! And your friend knew had a ban but still got behind the wheel. Tell the truth and face the consequences

The letter arrived today and I have to name the driver.

That’s the only bit you need to worry about.

If you hadn’t mentioned it to him you would have just filled in his details and sent it off. Is he such a good friend that you’re willing to go to prison for him? He’s on a driving ban and has a tag for something? Don’t think you get tags for driving offences. One of you is likely going to prison….

Her insurance policy is irrelevant. I'm pretty sure there's not a policy in the country that covers a banned driver to drive.

The court might be lenient in case of a medical emergency but it would still be illegal.

Edited to remove extra "in".

Don’t go to prison for this man.

Generally speaking because the vehicle is insured, although not for the driver in this situation, third party losses are covered in these scenarios when there is an accident but the car driver and the OP would not get anything. As there wasn’t any accident you’re correct about insurance being irrelevant here. If he’s prosecuted the likelihood is he will be found guilty of driving without insurance but the court probably won’t impose a penalty because of the driving whilst disqualified offence will carry a higher penalty.

You've been crazy to even think about this.
FFS fill in his name and send it off today.

It used to be very common but is becoming less so or with more clauses. Regardless im assuming said person doesn’t have insurance given they are banned so not like OP sees them regularly as a driver and even if they did. I’d still say are you sure your insurance covers you on other cars. I drive our car most but the policy is in DHs name, he is insured to drive other cars third party, as the second driver, I am not. So again, couldn’t assume.

WTAF?! You're actually considering doing this for some idiot?

Do not do this. Just no.

You've done absolutely nothing wrong. You trusted a friend, that's all. Don't stress over it.

I think you’re in hot water anyway op.
As the owner, the onus is on you to ensure the driver meets the legal requirements to drive your car.
You’ve knowingly let him drive with no insurance for starters and I don’t think you’ll be able to plead ignorance for his licence issues.
There are specific driving convictions for this, I think it’s an IN14 offence. There maybe others relating to driving without a licence too.
A very silly thing to do op.

OP says she didn't know her friend was on a ban or uninsured. He clearly kept very quiet about it. I doubt if the police would say that she should have asked to see his papers before letting him drive her home. Who does that? If you see your friend driving in other contexts and they haven't told you about a problem, you wouldn't guess that anything was wrong.

The 3 main insurance offences relating to drivers are use a vehicle without insurance alternatively, cause or permit use of a vehicle without insurance. If the OP let the driver borrow their vehicle it would be the permit offence but as they were travelling in the car they could also be prosecuted for use a vehicle without insurance. If the driver is interviewed they may tell the police that the OP was in the car too which could result in a prosecution for both of them. Having worked alongside traffic prosecution file builders, ignorance isn’t always a defence. It’s not common but definitely does happen.

Her friend sounds like a criminal dickhead who has lied before. He could easily lie and tell police the OP knew about his ban out of sheer spite that she wouldnt go along with his "let's make up a random man from the pub drove your car" story.

I wouldnt trust him not to throw her under the bus - then it's just his word against hers.

OP should of course still tell the truth but the point is, I wouldnt trust him as far as I could throw him so OP needs to be prepared he may lie and I agree with PP - she needs to seek legal advice first and foremost.

She must have known he wasn’t insured, she didn’t even put him as a named driver. He may have told her he had third party cover under his own policy, but it’s up to op to verify and check that.

You've already made several really stupid mistakes dont make more. It's time to get a handle on the situation and rectify it.

Mistakes so far

• driving to a venue with alcohol and choosing to drink rather than abstain
• choosing to allow someone else to drive your car home instead of getting a taxi
• choosing to not verify driver status and insurance
• Being so unaware of what was happening that you allowed him to speed while driving your car, uninsured and without a licence.

Now you need to tell the truth and accept the consequences which will likely be both legal and personal as it's unlikely you'll not be fined or receive some form of penalty and it's unlikely your friendship will survive without some impact.

Next time you go to the pub either get alternative transport or drink soft drinks.

You’re quite right. If I’m honest I wouldn’t let anyone else drive my car on a non- comprehensive policy and nor would I drive anyone else’s vehicle. Cars can be v. expensive to repair and I’m risk averse. I know someone who hit a deer with a shiny new Range Rover it damaged all sorts of sensors and intake valves . Repair bill would of been upwards of 10k, he was under the work policy but shows all it takes is being a bit unlucky.

I'm sure you are right that it is the driver's responsibility to check, but I sympathise with the OP about not having done so. It wouldn't occur to me that any good friend who offered to drive our car as a favour might not be allowed to. Our fully comp third party would cover a driver who is otherwise allowed to.

Its a question of the 'friend' who clearly isn't a pillar of society.

The idea that some people I know would have cover to drive my car if needed is quite reasonable, some others however might take a little more persuading

Your only sensible option is to tell the truth. What your friend did is their responsibility.
If you don't fill the form in you are likely to be charged with failing to identify the driver and get 6 points and a fine.
Do not lie on the form and name random or non-existent people, that could lead to worse charges against you.